


Thirteen Years a Stranger

by RTSideStories



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Anal Sex, F/M, Gen, Growing Up Together, M/M, Making Love, Making Out, More Tags to Come as Necessary, Puberty, Sexy Sass, learning to love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-10
Updated: 2015-02-20
Packaged: 2018-02-28 21:39:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 24
Words: 105,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2748044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RTSideStories/pseuds/RTSideStories
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles is going to grow up with two of the most overprotective best friends of all time, Scott and Derek.  How will they survive kindergarten through high school?  Easy.  With each other by their sides.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**_Year One : Kindergarten : 1990_ **

+

The first day of school was always torture, more so for parents than the children. Letting them take their first steps into the real world and into the care of someone else for 9 hours a day.  Their first problems with bullies, working with people they didn't like, and the innocence of their youth waning.

Talia Hale, a towering woman with tanned skin and night-black hair held two boys hands' beneath her.

“Scott, I'm sorry your mom couldn't be here today,” Talia said, bending down as they reached Room 104. Her business skirt bunched as the bottom, and she patted it instinctively.

Scott smiled. “That's okay Alpha Talia. You're kind of like my mom too now, so you're cool,” he answered gleefully.

Talia smiled at her proclaimed “coolness”. Scott had bloomed over the past year having a real Alpha and a real pack now. Not that his own mother was incompetent as a human, but the asshattery that was the Alpha McCall could have devastated the child for the rest of his life. Instead of being the savage asshole that his father was, Scott was respectful, courteous, and had more kindness in his heart than a child of his circumstances should have. While lacking a bit in the “common sense” department, she'd try to work on that later.

Turning to the other child, a dark haired gloomy boy of her same skin tone clung to his backpack. A tiny red bag that he kept sniffing deep from.

“Derek, sweetie, I want you to try and have a good day today. No shifting and hiding from the teacher under a table, and don't bite anyone. Alpha's orders.” Talia said dimly.

The child's eyes flashed blue if for only a moment, and he growled towards his mother.

“No backtalk. Alpha orders are Alpha orders. They're for your best,” Talia reassured quietly.

Huffing, Derek looked away from his mother.

Talia rolled her eyes. “Scott, can you make sure he behaves?” she asked.

The other child nodded eagerly, taking Derek by the hand. He pulled Derek inside the classroom, but not before the gloomy child stuck his tongue out at his mother.

Folding her arms, Talia sighed. “I hope they'll be all right,” she whispered to herself.

“COME ON DADDY, IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL AND I DON'T WANT TO BE LATE! THEY'LL GIVE ME DETENTION, I SAW IT ON TV,” a small child exclaimed.

Talia then watched as a pipsqueak of a child pulled a police officer past her and into the Kindergarten classroom.

 

+

 

“Derek, Alpha Talia says you have to make friends!” Scott announced at recess.

Huffing, Derek pouted as he sat in the corner of the room that was the darkest. No shifting and no hiding, but it didn't mean he couldn't be mad.

INSIDE recess. No running and playing tag outside in the woods, it was “too dangerous” to play with the big weres and vampires. So they had to stay inside and play board games like little babies.

“I'm bored and Alpha Talia said I had to not bite anyone or shift. I'm not biting anyone and I'm not shifting,” Derek responded.

Groaning loudly, Scott pulled at Derek. There was no getting him off the floor.

“Derek, please! Alpha Talia asked me to help you! I want Alpha Talia to like me! Get up and play or I'm telling!” Scott begged.

“Alpha Talia likes you Scott. She likes you better than me,” Derek muttered under his breath, struggling to keep his bottom on the floor. Scott was strong, an Alpha, just like he was.

But before he could adequately refuse Scott, Derek found himself pulled to his feet. They staggered around as Derek refused to be bossed around by anyone.

Then... He stopped. Derek's sensitive ears prickled.

“Leave me alone Jackson! I don't wanna play!” a child shouted.

In the middle of the classroom, a light haired boy with pale skin was being pulled at the hair by another kid with soft golden-brown hair. Jackson Whittmore was the kid doing the pulling, Derek recognized him from his mother's functions. He was a bully and a meanie-head. His Papa had growled at Jackson before.

Shoving Scott to the ground to end his ceaseless nagging and pulling, Derek growled quietly under his breath to walk over to the table in question. Jackson's table, and the table where that kid was sitting.

“Stop Jackson!” the child whined again.

Derek stood behind both of them. He growled.

Jackson spun around, shaking.

“D... Derek! Hey, Derek, it's-” he stammered.

“Go away. You're hurting him,” Derek quietly informed the child.

Pouting, Jackson stuck his tongue out at the boy he'd been tugging at. “Poopyhead!” he yelled, walking away from the table with a hurt sting on his face.

An odd satisfaction fluttered in Derek's chest. Like when hunted a squirrel and gave it to his Pa-.

Frowning, Derek folded his arms. Behind him, Scott popped up. “Alpha Talia said-”

“I wasn't mean!” Derek said, whipping Scott in the head.

The blonde kid giggled.

Again, that weird feeling in Derek's chest rose up when he turned back to look at the kid. He was scrawny, like he didn't eat right. Then there was his skin, cold and pale from not being out in the sun. His Alpha wasn't very good. Didn't they run and hunt?

“My name's Derek. What's yours?” the angry boy asked.

“Stiles. Stiles Stilinksi,” the runt responded.

Scott's heart thumped, and he pushed past Derek. “Hi Stiles, I'm Scott! Can I be your friend and you be both our best friends forever?” he asked eagerly. Scott's golden eyes gleamed at him.

“Sure! I don't got a best friend yet!” Stiles shouted. He held up white sheets of circus pictures to be colored. “You guys want to color?” he offered.

Derek grumbled. Coloring was boring.

Eagerly, Scott grabbed one of the pieces of paper and hastily began coloring into the lines. There was zero subtly, and he basically just scribbled over the paper. Within just a few moments, he shoved it in Stiles' hands. “Here, you can have it! I'll make more!” he exclaimed.

Derek scowled. An overwhelming urge to wrestle with Scott and tear up his stupid coloring rose up from his gut. He also wanted to go out and hunt a squirrel for Stiles. The kid needed to eat something.

 

+

 

Stiles looked up from his coloring. Derek was still there, hovering. His arms were crossed, and his face pouty. He looked mad. Like Grumpy Bear from the Care Bears.

“Derek, you wanna play coloring?” Stiles asked, holding up a crayon.

Pouty-kid shook his head. “No.

“Yes he does. He just wants to go home to Alpha Talia and mommy,” Scott mumbled under his breath.

Stiles laughed as Derek made a funny dog growl. It was like a real dog!

Giggling, Stiles goes back to his coloring. “Who's Alpha Talia?” he asked.

Scott's face exploded in excitement. “Alpha Talia is the coolest! Me and my mommy live with her and Derek, and we're a pack! She takes me an Derek hunting, and shows us how to fight, and lets us run at dark past bedtime! What's your Alpha like!?” he asked, talking at a hundred miles a minute.

“What's an Alpha?” Stiles asked curiously.

Derek's face shot straight to Stiles. “Your Alpha! You know, the pack boss. Your pack HAS to have an Alpha,” he demanded.

“What's a pack?” Stiles asked again.

Derek and Scott turned to each other, equally curious.

“I have a Daddy. He's John Stilinksi, Deputy to the Sheriff! My daddy is the coolest thing ever, and he takes me to the JAIL sometimes so I can see his friends!” Stiles exclaimed.

Derek soon knew more about cops, cop related things, and cop dogs than he cared to admit.

Though... The cop dogs sounded cool.

 

+

 

Lunch took too long and didn't taste right. School had WAY too much sitting, it wasn't even fair.

Derek poked at his food and watched it jiggle. Even though he'd gotten the meatloaf lunch, it was cooked too much. Tasted like yucky sugar and tomatoes. His Papa knew how to cook right.

Derek frowned, looking at the clock overhead the busy Cafeteria. Alpha Talia said she'd be there when the big hand was on the 12 and the little hand was on the 3. Then they'd go with Alpha Talia and Mommy Melissa and get ice cream, but only if they didn't cry at school. Derek wouldn't cry. He didn't want the ice cream, but he did want to go run outside in the woods. Alpha Talia said he could stay up late and go howling if he was good.

Loud arguing caught his attention.

“My Daddy's a cop! He gets to carry a gun and shoot bad guys! So he's the best!” Stiles exploded.

Looking next to him, Derek noticed Stiles and Scott were not crying and hadn't whined all day. They weren't even upset about school. Scott LIKED it. Weirdo.

Not to be outdone by his new friend, Scott smirked. “Yeah, well my mommy's a nurse! She gets to make people feel better and can like save anyone! She even saved me after I got hurt, and made my arm feel ALL better,” he offered, raising up his T-shirt to reveal a long scar down his shoulder.

“OH COOL!” Stiles exclaimed, touching it like it was a rare specimen of an alien cow.

Scott seemed to perk up at the touch, smiling so wide that he showed off all of his teeth. He then proceeded to give Stiles his apple.

“Thanks Scott! You're nice!” Stiles offered, biting into the apple as though it were the most delicious thing on earth.

Derek pouted.

Scott had given Stiles his pudding, fries, and hamburger. Now his apple?

Grumbling, Derek shoved his tray in front of Stiles. He wasn't sure why he did it, since the potatoes were okay, and the banana was his favorite fruit. Still, he didn't want Stiles JUST eating Scott's food. Like it wasn't fair or something. Plus, Stiles REALLY needed to eat stuff, since his Alpha was REALLY bad. John sounded okay though.

Stiles' face couldn't stop smiling. “Thanks! I'm starving! You guys are cool!” he exploded, grabbing Derek's fork and pushing the food in with as much haste as he could muster.

Derek's pout softened. A little. He still hated school, and wanted to go out and run, but Stiles was okay. Stiles was the only thing that made school a little okay.

Looking over his new friend, Derek's eyes stopped.

“What's that?” Derek asked, pointing to Stiles' neck.

The child looked down at it. An intricately woven silver chain with a glass ball about the size of a penny.. Flames danced inside of it, all in turquoise and red, with a spiral-shaped heart right in the middle, beating rhythmically.

Stiles touched it proudly. “This was my Mommy's. She gave it to me before she went to the sky and said to wear it when I go to school. Cuz then we could be together and I wouldn't be so scared! Daddy says it also makes me not get sick,” he explained.

Derek looked away.

Scott touched it, gasping. “Wow, that's cool! It's like fire! Is it fire?!” he asked.

While Scott and Stiles discussed fires and fireworks, Derek put his arm down his shirt, pulling out a long silver chain. Hooked into the chain was a silver ring that he could almost fit all of his fingers through. His father's ring. Uncle Peter had given it to him, even though it was supposed to be Uncle Peter's. Uncle Peter was nice. He said his father would be with him in his heart and in his blood and the ring was his soul. That is was the ring he wore when he married Alpha Talia, and the ring he fixed when Derek was born.

Looking at Stiles and Scott, Derek fumbled the ring in his hands.

“ _I want you to make friends at preschool Derek.”_

“ _I don't want any friends! I just want you Papa!”_

“ _But think about how much fun you'd have with kids your own age! When I grew up, I had a witch and a wisp as a friend, and we got into all sorts of trouble and fun together! You might find a friend soon that you'll be with together forever!”_

“ _I don't wanna go Papa! Please don't make me go! I love you Papa!”_

“ _... Derek... I love you too. It's just that I...”_

“ _Papa...”_

“ _I'm sorry Derek, but as your Alpha, I'm telling you to go to preschool and find some friends”_

“ _PAPA!”_

“ _Go. Your Papa won't be here forever. You're going to grow up soon, and part of that means finding a pack. You're an Alpha too. One day you're going to have people that depend on you to protect them. People that you love dearly, maybe even more than your Mama or Papa. You've got to be a strong boy now Derek, and I know you can do it.”_

“ _I HATE YOU PAPA! I HATE YOU!”_

“ _Well then hate me. But make friends while you hate me!”_

 

Derek could hear his Papa's laugh. It was warm, not like Alpha Talia's.

“Derek?” Stiles asked.

Hiding his necklace in his shirt, Derek turned to Stiles. The boy had an outstretched hand and took Derek's, clutching it.

“It's okay to be said. I miss my mommy too,” Stiles said with a beaming smile.

Then, just like that, Derek felt all the sad go away. He didn't miss Papa as much, and felt his heart beat normal again.

Stiles, on the other hand, had several tears running down his cheek. His soft green eyes went muddy and dark. The glass ball around his neck fluttered, and the colors darkened to a black flame.

“It's okay. When mommy went to the sky, I made Daddy feel better too,” Stiles said kindly.

Derek's heart thumped once. A very loud thump that send blood rushing to his chest. It was quite a rush.

“Stilinski! That's okay sweetheart, you don't have to do that! Remember what your Daddy said?” a teacher exclaimed, tearing Stiles' hand away from Derek.

The bond broke, and Derek felt his sadness drawn back in. He wanted his Papa badly.

Nervously, the teacher tried to hug Stiles and pat him on the back. As she wiped away his tears, his black glass ball went back to their bright colors.

“There there... It's okay Stiles. Come on, let's go see the counselor real quick and I'll take you back outside for recess,” she offered politely.

Derek snagged Stiles' arm and growled at the teacher.

She merely smiled and patted Derek on the head., loosening her grip on Stiles. The growling ceased. “Sweetie, I'm not taking him away forever, I just want to make sure he feels okay. If you want, you can come with him!” she explained.

Satisfied, Derek stood up and stuck close to Stiles, eying the teacher menacingly. Scott wasn't far behind, grabbing Stiles' other arm.

 

+

 

Scott was giggling. Stiles was giggling too. Derek tried not to smile.

Nap time was supposed to be quiet time. Derek knew that, and the teacher said to be very quiet so that everyone could have a nap and go out to play recess before school was over. Though he didn't really care. A lot of the other kids were talking too.

“You've got a Nintendo! Cool man!” Stiles whispered loudly.

Scott nodded. “Yeah, we got Mario and Earthbound and Zelda! Derek doesn't play with me though, so I kind of lose a lot,” he said, sticking his tongue out at Derek.

Derek stuck his tongue out as well, growling low.

Scott giggled with Stiles as they both made faces at Derek.

Pouting at last, Derek folded his arms and turned away. He tried to close his eyes and sleep. It wouldn't come, he never could take naps like Alpha Talia wanted, but he'd try.

“Your Mommy went to the sky?” Scott whispered.

Derek's eyes shot open

“Did she die?” Scott asked again..

Derek turned back to Stiles, fully prepared to tackle Scott and throw him out the window. Though as he glanced at Stiles, he didn't seem sad at all. Actually, he smiled.

“Yeah. My mommy kissed me goodnight and said she had to go to the sky the next morning. That I wouldn't see her for a very long time, but that she loved me lots. Daddy cried. I slept in mommy and daddy's room that night. When I woke up, Mommy was gone. She had to go to the sky, just like she said,” Stiles explained.

Scott frowned . “I'd be sad if my mommy went to the sky. My mommy is really nice and I love her,” he expressed, tearing up at the very thought.

Slamming his eyes shut, Derek laid flat on his stomach on his kindergarten mat. He was NOT going to cry.

 

“ _How was School?”_

“ _I hate preschool Uncle Peter! I want Papa and I want to tell Papa I'm not going, even if he's Alpha!”_

“ _Derek...”_

“ _UNCLE PETER, I WANT MY PAPA! TAKE ME HOME, I WANT PAPA! I want to go home and run with Papa and you! Right now!”_

 

Derek remembered the sad eyes Uncle Peter had. Those sad golden eyes as he gripped the steering wheel.

 

“ _Derek... Your father has left and is never coming home again. He and a wisp died this morning fighting a demon that tried to hurt our town. We're burying him in the backyard right now. I just.. I just didn't want it to be a shock when you got there.”_

“ _P..P...Papa...?”_

“ _Your father knew he was going to die. He asked me to take care of you, and I'm going to do that with your mother. Your mother is Alpha now,”_

“ _Pa..pa...”_

 

Derek pulled out his ring again. He held it tight in his hands and shut his eyes.

 

“ _You look just like your father did when he cried”_

 

 

+

 

The end of school FINALLY came. Even as the newly hired deputy, John Stilinksi, a blonde haired thin male in an officer's uniform, had managed to snag an early vacation day.

Getting Stiles INTO school was the easy part. Getting Stiles OUT of school was what he feared. The boy was like a sponge when it came to asking questions and trying to figure out the mysteries of the world. Why the sky was blue, how grass grew, and where babies came from. John figured the boy would either be expelled for being an annoying snot that would mouth off constantly or unnaturally gifted.

Probably the latter.

John tried not to pass out after the call from the counselor and didn't embarrass Stiles by coming to get him early. Not half a day into his school, and he already had used his gifts. He'd been TOLD, and didn't listen.

Yep. Definitely the latter. 100%, no arguments.

Walking through the classrooms and seeing the reunions of parents and children, John kept trying to find his son in the reading area. When he wasn't there, it was with a great deal of embarrassment that he finally had to ask where his son would be.

A VERY annoyed teacher pointed in the outside vicinity, where most of the children were out playing.

“He's not in here? Stiles HATES the outside!” John had offered Stiles' teacher. Hearing “you could have fooled me” was not the best response to hear.

Expulsion was definitely the only possibility.

Though it was a strange surprise to see his son out on the playground with the rest of the kids instead of reading in the classroom, it was even stranger to see him with friends. Not that Stiles could read, but he liked to pretend he could.

Barely making his child out, John certainly couldn't spot the two boys he was playing with on the swing-set. So instead, he chose to whistle with his fingers.

“STILES! Dad's here!” John shouted.

“DADDY!” Stiles belted. His feet left the chair, and he flew to the grass, hitting the ground running. The friends weren't far behind. All was good until he realized that his friends were running on all fours and caught up with his son very quickly.

“Oh God...” John whispered.

 

+

 

Stiles watched his Dad's face go pale as he ran up and hugged him around the legs. The face was kind of like when he asked “why” too much. Or when he tried to climb a tree to touch the moon.

“Stiles.. You'e uh... You've made some friends?” his daddy asked.

Nodding immediately, Stiles grabbed both his friends and hugged them at his sides. “This is my new best friend forever, Derek and my other best friend forever Scott! Did you know they have a Nintendo with GAMES?! They also got something called an Alfredo Tamale” Stiles shared eagerly. He was bouncing up and down in excitement.

“Alpha Talia,” Scott corrected quickly.

John chuckled nervously. “H.. Hi there Derek! Good to see you again son. Hi Scott, it's nice to meet you!” he replied.

“You know my Daddy?!” Stiles shouted, looking at Derek.

Pouty-face nodded. “Hi Mr. Stilinksi,” he replied.

“Derek? Scott? I see you made a friend together!” a woman exclaimed.

John's heart sank. He gripped his fist and nearly cut himself with his thin nails.

“ALPHA TALIA!” Scott screeched, jetting past all of them and leaping into Talia's arms.

Walking straight past John with Scott in her arms, Talia bent down to both release Scott and hold her hand out to Stiles.

“I'm Talia, Derek's mother and Alpha. I'm also Scott's Alpha and guardian while his mother is at work in the hospital. So nice to meet you Stiles,” she explained lightly.

Stiles took her hand and shook it with gusto. “Hi Alajandro Tammer!” he exploded.

“Alpha Talia! Alpha Talia! Alpha Talia! Stiles is my best friend now, and he's Derek's best friend too! I did just like you said!” Scott said, jumping up and down with the exciting news.

“Oh? Derek, did you make a friend as well?” Talia asked, with a slight grin.

Huffing, Derek folded his arms. “He's MY friend,” he shot back, with a great deal of malice.

Talia sniffed the air. Her eyes blew up, shimmering in red for jut a moment. “So good to see you again Deputy Stilinski, it's been far too long. A year and a half now, if memory serves me correctly,” she said, holding out her hand to John.

John did not return the handshake.

“So... Rebuilding the pack? Haven't seen this one before!” John said, ruffling Scott's hair, who had not left his Alpha since he entered the region.

Talia bit her bottom lip in irritation, but shook it off. “Yes, Scott is an Alpha. He and his mother are living with us now, and I'm training him to be a pack leader, just like my son Derek,” she said, putting her hand on Scott's shoulder.

“Yes, well, I must be going. My son and I-” John started to say, silenced as Talia's intimidating presence came ever so close to him.

“Would Stiles like to come over for a sleepover tonight? The boys look like they've had so much fun, I'd hate to end it! Besides, it'd give them a chance to bond and learn more about each other's cultures,” Talia said.

John glanced down at the two were-pups. Scott, the smaller one, seemed to be crossing his fingers, eyes and probably toes. Derek wasn't as friendly looking. Instead, he seemed to be staring at Stiles like a piece of meat to be devoured. Not that pups could even break skin until their fangs came in during puberty, but Derek was certainly a lot bigger than Stiles and outweighed him by a good 10 pounds.

“PLEASE DADDY?!” Stiles said, suddenly bounding with energy and begging with every ounce of his mother's eyes.

With his lips firmly planted on “No”, he felt Talia's hand grab his shoulder. “We have things we need to discuss, and it involves your son. Tonight. Even if he can't sleep over, please bring him,” she commanded.

 

+

 

John could have easily refused the werewolf's offer. He wasn't a were, and had no obligation to surrender to an Alpha. In fact, he had zero love for any of the Hales. Peter was a fine man and very good at his job of leadership, but a manipulative son of a bitch that somehow got his way into the city council. Town hall meetings had the lowest turnout in fifty years because of him.

Talia? Well, Talia was a memory he chose to forget.

Still, his son had apparently gotten close to the were-pups and would be his very first friends. At the very least, he could tolerate an evening of Talia Hale. Though if Peter were there, all bets were off.

Packing his son's overnight bag with underwear, pajamas, and school clothes, he kept taking more and more deep breaths and counting to ten.

“-so then Scott just JUMPED like WHOOSH into the air and caught the frisbee in his mouth after school daddy, it was so COOL!” Stiles said, jumping up and down on his dinosaur comforter, while his mother's necklaced bounced up and down on his chest.

John checked the glass charm. All of it was a vibrant yellow. _“Pure joy”_ John thought, making his own human growling under his breath.

Landing on his bed with a loud thump, Stiles had finally shut his mouth for the first time since getting home.

John gulped. “Stiles... Remember when Daddy told you that there were... Special people in the world? People who weren't exactly.. Human, and that you'd meet these people in school and that you shouldn't be afraid?” he asked.

Stiles nodded. “Yes Daddy. Like how Mommy and I are Wisps and you're a human?” he asked.

John nodded. “That's right son. There are humans, wisps, banshees, trolls, sirens, and all kinds of creatures. But do you know what kind of people Scott and Derek are?”

“Nuh-uh,” Stiles responded.

“Scott and Derek are weres, son. Werewolves. Do you know what a werewolf is?” John asked.

Stiles shook his head.

John chuckled nervously. “Oh of course you don't. No, of course you don't, and of course you pick the HALE-” he starts to mumble, silencing himself. “Sorry. Um.. Well, son, a werewolf is a special person who can turn into a wolf. Some of the are better at it than others, and they have three different kinds of werewolf. Scott and Derek are alphas,” he explained.

“What's an Alpha?” Stiles asked immediately.

“ _I'm not about to have the Alpha talk with my five year old son, and why being best friends with Alphas is probably not a good idea.”_

John smiled. “Well... An Alpha likes to be the leader. They like to tell people what to do, because that's just how their personality is. A lot of what werewolves do is based on their instincts instead of on their brains. They don't act like humans, and and sometimes do stuff like dogs do. For example, did Scott and Derek try and tell you what to do today?” he asked.

Stiles immediately shook his head. “No. Scott kept asking me what I wanted to play at recess and inside recess, and Derek helped me win when we played outside! Derek carried me so I could tag Scott, cuz they were FAST Daddy!” he exclaimed.

John's smile faded. “Wait... They... They wanted you to pick what to play AND let you win?” he asked.

“Yeah! Scott's really cool and Derek's super nice. Derek doesn't talk though. He kind of growls a lot, like a doggy. OH! And Daddy, they can howl! They got with other kids and howled at last recess! Then other kids in other classes howled! It was so cool, just like when we went camping and heard the coyotes!” he exploded, already off on another tangent completely.

John could only blink to himself. “Alphas... Submitted?” he thought to himself quietly.

 

 

+

 

The Hale compound was easily the largest piece of land in Beacon Hills. Dense woods and an old-time mansion that had stood the test of many generations. At the tile-end of August, it was just the perfect weather to do any sort of outdoor activity. The nearby lake only doubled that thought, as John recalled fishing in that very lake many years ago with .

“Is that is? Are we there? Are we there? Are we there?!” Stiles exploded. He was bouncing in the backseat of the police car and rattling the dividing line.

John nodded. “Yes son, it's right there,” he explained, pointing at the mansion.

Stiles gasped. “WOW, it's so big! I bet EVERYONE could live there!” he exclaimed.

Chuckling, John shook his head, recalling the Hale pack many years earlier. He was amazed they could fit twenty people in that house. Then again, half of them were sharing be-

Shaking off the memory, John stopped the car. Before he could even put it in park, Stiles was out and running on the fresh green grass

“SCOTT, DEREK, I'm here!” he shouted up at the large house.

John sighed as he got out of the car, hearing loud howls several miles. Moving to Stiles, he gently lifted the silver chained pendant off his neck and pointed at his eyes. “You can take them out,” he offered.

Well practiced, Stiles opened both his eyes as wide as he could. Through great concentration, two contacts flew out of his eyes and into John's palms. They weren't a typical contact lens, instead being made of a stronger glass and shaded a dark purple. In his natural hue, Stiles' eyes were a colorless grey.

“Why'd you take Mommy's necklace?” Stiles asked.

John checked his watch. “Oh, if my experiences are any suggestion, you'll find out in three... two... one...” he mumbled.

As if on cue, two furry dogs leapt out of the trees from the forests, bounced off the ground and then both tackled Stiles to the grass. About the size of a standard wolf-cub, Scott and Derek were licking Stiles' face, as Stiles' giggled, clearly ticklish.

“Scott! Derek! Stop, is that you?!” Stiles shrieked, huddling up into a ball.

The black wolf slowly hunkered down, shifting back into a human. Shirtless, and naked as he hid behind a pair of jeans tethered to his leg, he had to pull the pants on quickly.

To his side, a chocolate brown wolf began shifting as well. With an embarrassing amount of modesty, Scott hid behind Derek as he pulled his pants back up.

“WOW, COOL! YOU REALLY ARE WEREWOLVES!” Stiles said giddly.

Scott smirked. “Yeah, my mom told us you're not a werewolf. That's why you don't got an Alpha or a pack! That's okay though, you're cool,” he said.

Huffing, Derek slapped Scott on the back of the head. “Stupid! He can be in our pack! He just don't got to do what Alpha Talia says!” he shouted.

“I can be in a pack!? AWESOME, I want to be in a pack!” Stiles shouted, running over to his finally clothed friends and walking around the Hale Compound. They were already arguing over pack names, because “pack” just wasn't cool enough in Scott's opinion.

Just as they got out of hearing range, John could barely make out his son asking what a pack was.

“He's a sweet boy. Acts just like his mother,” Talia remarked.

Spinning around, John was met with a very naked Talia Hale. Unlike the boys, she'd outgrown modesty and accepted her wolfy side.

“You said we have something to discuss?” John answered, storming past Talia and into the Hale home.

 

+

 

The “Discussion” was apparently bad enough to warrant alcoholic beverages and a sit down at the Hale family table.

John groaned. “No... No no no. You're not serious,” he said, downing the tumbler of whiskey in a half second. He was already drunk after the hour long discussion. By the three hour mark, he was practically hammered, had it not been for Talia's weird wolf healing.

Laughing wildly, Talia shook her head. “No, I'm very serious John, and this isn't a bad trick to try and get us on speaking terms again,” she answered.

Choosing to hit the REALY hard stuff, John popped open a can of Dr. Pepper. “Run this by me again, I just... I can't comprehend it,” he mumbled.

Ice shifted in Talia's glass as she tilted it side to side. “Both Scott and Derek are Alphas. Meaning that they have an internal desire to make a pack, find a mate, and lead. There's more to it than that, but I won't bore you,” she explained concisely.

“And.. My son?” John asked, massaging his forehead painfully.

Talia chuckled. “The boys think of Stiles as a runt, someone who needs taking care of. It's an Alpha's natural instinct to try and help pack,” she explained.

“When did Stiles become pack again? Because I think I missed the mating ritual,” John joked, rolling his eyes.

Talia kicked him quietly under the table. “Somewhere between coloring and sharing their lunch, I don't know John, I wasn't there! It's happened though, and that's all there is to it. Stiles is pack, and what's done is done!” she exclaimed.

“So what does that mean for my son?!” John asked, clearly frustrated.

Sighing, Talia took a long drink of her own alcoholic beverage.

“They're too young to really know what they're doing besides trying to make Stiles like them and be best friends. In wolf-terms, they're making him offerings to woo him into the pack. Apparently sharing lunch and pudding is enough to woo Stiles, so by saying they're best friends, he's pack! And now that he's pack, they think he's a runt, so they're going to try and force food down him, make him run and work out, and try to get stronger. Scott and Derek want to protect him, and make sure he stays safe. In short, he's going to have two of the most overprotective friends in the world, and God I don't look forward to teenage years,” she said, finishing off her speech and her drink. Talia slammed it on the wooden table of her kitchen.

John groaned. “God... This must be a sign... Of all the people he could have... Fuck,” he said, as his head thudded against the table.

“I know I'm not your favorite person in the world. But for-”

Stopping Talia before she could finish, John rose up his hand. “No... No, it's fine. Stiles can be friends with Scott and Derek. No sense spending half a year arguing about it. If they're pack, and Stiles is happy, that's all that I care about. I still hate your family's guts, and nothing will probably ever change that,” he answered.

After a brief awkward silence, Talia cleared her throat.

“Is your son human?” Talia questioned.

Immediately shaking his head, John chuckled.

“My son is a Wisp, like his mother was. No half human either, he's the full shebang. I don't advertise that, so please don't repeat it I'm only telling you because you probably need to know,” John whined.

“Naturally, I'd never say a word, but... I apologize. I'm not that familiar with Wisps. They're... Emotional creatures, right? ” Talia asked politely.

John nodded. “A Wisp has all the physical traits of a human, but a soul like no other creature in our world. They're masters of human emotions and can alter, absorb, or project feelings at will. As he gets older, Stiles will even be able to use emotions as magical energy, similar to a witch. Basically, they're a walking mood ring that can help people in a lot of different ways.” he mumbled.

“So... Your son makes people happy?” Talia asked.

“No, it's more than that. Wisps are delicate creatures and can't afford to do that all the time. If they take too much negative emotion, they can get sick. If they're separated from social interaction, they can go comatose. In extreme cases of depression or neglect, they can die. At the same time, if they're surrounded by good energy, they can heal themselves or store more positive emotions to use later on other people. Or...” he said, stopping as the words hit his tongue.

Talia closed her eyes. “Or they can weave their own life force into creatures of darkness, weakening them significantly,” she offered.

John nodded. “Yea... Yeah, they've been known to do that,” he grumbled, suddenly regretting the alcohol. He was NOT going to cry in front of a hale.

“How's Stiles' taking it?” Talia asked.

Shrugging, the officer downed half his can of soda in one gulp.

“He's young and doesn't understand what death is. Doesn't help that he's a wisp. They're spiritual by nature, and he keeps telling me that his mother is “in the sky”. What the hell does that even mean? I asked him if he meant Heaven, but no! No, the kid says his mother is the “sky” now. God, I wish Claudia was here,” John answered, slamming his fist on the table.

Silently cursing himself, he shook his head. “How about Derek, and who's this boy that you're mentoring?” he questioned.

Talia sighed. “Kyle and Derek were inseparable, and Derek didn't take the news well. I tried to get him into therapy, but he just shifts in the doctor's office and hides under a desk for an hour as a pup. I would order him as an Alpha to do it, but that wouldn't help anything. He's just an angry child who wants his father back and takes out that frustration on me,” she explained. She gripped her glass hard enough that it cracked in several spots. “As for Scott? Well, I met his mother through my work at the grief counseling center. She went through an abusive relationship, and after her Alpha husband beat Scott within an inch of his life at the age of 4, decided to leave him and get full custody. We made a repor, she was a human and had no idea how to raise a were-pup on her own, and well... It just made sense to let her stay here in my home. Scott and Derek latch onto me as their Alpha instinctively, while Melissa is “mommy”,” she said, smiling at the thought.

“How's that working out for you?” John asked.

“I'm raising two Alpha boys that piss their stink everywhere in the woods to mark their territory, eat us out of house and home, and have broken more walls in this house than I care to count with their wrestling,” Talia explained. Though her words were all said with a smile on her lips. “And... It's wonderful. Scott is helping Derek open up, and Derek is doing the same for Scott. We had a pack bonding ritual at the last fool moon, where I named them brothers and gave Scott our pack's name. Scott McCall Hale,” she explained quietly.

John chuckled. “Well... I'm glad your kids are doing good Talia. You I could care less about, but I'm happy for the kids,” he replied, taking a deep breath.

“Why thank you John, you were always such a sweet talker,” Talia responded sarcastically.

“DADDY! DADDY! DADDY!” Stiles shouted at the top of his lungs.

Talia smirked to herself, sniffing the air.

“What Stiles?” John asked, turning around from the Hale kitchen table and glancing at the front door.

Stiles stood there, being hugged by Derek and Scott on each of his sides. They were all muddy and soaking wet.

Derek pouted, folding his arms over his mud-stained bare chest as his hair dripped on the Hale's nice hardwood flooring.

Scott was blushing, clearly embarrassed and rubbing the back of his head. In Stiles' hands was a large green toad that ribbeted excessively.

“I named him Froggy! I tried to catch him and jump in the lake, but I didn't get to him in time! Then Derek and Scott turned into doggies when I saw him jump in the water! They swam all in the pond and gave him to me! It was the coolest thing ever of all time Daddy! How come I can't turn into a doggy like them!? That's cool! Oh, and don't worry, I'm not gonna disect the frog like Bill Nye” Stiles shouted, speaking at a million miles a minute. The child's beaming smile showed off all his teeth, save for a gap where his first tooth had fallen out week prior. His eyes were shifting out of grey.

“Talia, I'd look away if I were you,” John offered, glancing away from the sight.

A gentle glow in Stile's eyes left them a shade of violet, as red danced like waves in between them.

“Too late,” John said, watching as Talia bore straight into Stiles' eyes.

Energy.

Pure, blissful, positive energy.

Relief as though she'd slept a thousand years and awoke to a perfect day.

The glowing moment after lovemaking and kissing her spouse.

Adrenaline like no other, in a moment of youthful passion.

Talia staggered backwards, covering her heart. An overwhelming power ran through her veins, as though she were hopped up on caffeine, sugar, and meth simultaneously. The beast inside forced her eyes to flash a deep red, and her nails turned into sharp claws.

Beside Stiles, both of his friends had shifted into their pup forms from secondhand energy. Sopping wet with clothes ripped to shreds by the unexpected shift, they both shook eagerly, covering Stiles in water.

“Hey, stop it!” Stiles giggled, as both of the wolf pups nuzzled their noses into Stiles' face and licked him on the cheeks.

John, with a smile way too big to contain, hid his face under his hat. “Go upstairs and get out of those wet clothes and change into your pajamas. Put the frog back out in the wild where it belongs, you can visit Froggy anytime you want. Apologize to Miss Hale for getting her hardwood wet, and I'll go ahead and let you stay the night, but make sure and be good to Mrs. Hale and do everything she says. No scary movies, I don't want you shaking their house, got it?” he asked sternly.

“YAY! Sorry Mrs. Hale! Come on guys, let's play Nintendo!” Stiles shouted, running through the house with two pups chasing after him eagerly.

Once out of hearing range, John turned back to Talia. She had the blush of someone who'd just gone through serious mating.

“Oh... Oh my... That's...” she murmured, holding her gut in. Talia's skin crawled, prickling and wanting to shift and go on a twelve year run. “I think I need a cigarette after something like that!” he exclaimed, holding herself tightly.

Groaning, John nodded as he retook his seat next to her at the dining table. “Takes a while to get used to... Well, all of Stiles. Definitely keeps me up at night sometimes. God, Christmas morning is the worst. He shattered a light bulb doing that last year,” he explained. He then seriously turned to her. “Oh, and I wasn't joking about the scary movies. If Stiles is frightened, he can shake the house. Tore shingles off my roof the last time I caught him trying to watch a vampire movie,” he explained.

Talia laughed. “My my... And I though raising Derek and Scott with Melissa was challenging. You? You've got a nuclear power source living under your roof!” she said loudly. Covering her face, she couldn't help but sigh. “Were you serious about the house shaking, because Scott and Derek have already weakened the foundation,” she said quite nervously.

Nodding, the deputy pulled a small black box out of his front pocket. “Talia, these are Stiles' contacts. They suppress his emotional energy sharing to a minimum, but he can't wear them all the time or he'd get sick. Just make sure he puts them in during school hours, or if he's in a bad spot. He knows how to get them in himself,” he explained.

Talia took the box in her hands and nodded. “I will. Would you like some coffee while you wait out your buzz to go down? You can make sure and kiss Stiles goodnight as well,” she offered.

“Sure,” John mumbled, brushing past Talia without so much as a thank you.

 

+

 

Things were far too quiet. After the bubble bath war of two shifted wolf-pups and a wisp, Talia had the sinking feeling that she would get zero sleep that night as her children battled sleep, their dreaded mortal enemy.

Though within about fifteen minutes of “Nintendo time”, not another noise could be heard.

Checking his watch, John stood up and stretched out into the air. “I better go tell Stiles goodnight. My buzz has worn off,” he said, moving towards the elegant spiral staircase of the Hale Home.

Talia had joined him, and the two quickly made for the pups' room. Easy to recognize with the scrawled “DEREK AND SCOTT'S ROOM ” on white paper plastered to the door.

“I'll just say goodnight and be on my-” John said as he turned the old knob and opened the door.

The sight was not what John had expected. “Nintendo” was all Stiles had talked about since hearing Derek and Scott had one. Instead of playing the console, the freshly pajama'd child seemed to be fast asleep on Derek's bed. Scott and Derek were on top of him as wolf-pups, keeping him warm while Stiles held Derek's head close to his chest, and Scott curled up to Stiles' side. Despite their impressive hearing, neither pup stirred as John and Talia watched them carefully.

“Oh my God...” John whispered, covering his mouth.

They both backed away from the door, as Talia glanced at him curiously. “What? You've never seen pups pile up before? They're very needy creatures when it comes to touch and attention, especially when they're shifted. It's nothing to be-”

“He's sleeping,” John stammered.

Talia folded her arms. “What? He had a long day playing outside with two rambunctious alpha pups who are clearly exhausted themselves. I would be more surprised if-”

“Stiles doesn't sleep,” John finished

Silenced by the man's words, Talia barely could blink.

John laughed some more. “That kid, he... He's just so full of energy that he never has to sleep! He's gone weeks without it, just needing a hug or a pat on the back and he's good to go! I... I've been trying for years to get him to sleep regularly, and now he's just...” he said, as his eyes finally focused. “He took their need. They were tired, like you said, and he just.. Oh my God, I didn't know he could take fatigue too! God... God...” he muttered, just laughing and crying all at the same time.

Talia smiled. “I think I see where this is going. His friends were tired. Scott and Derek had already run a couple of miles when they got home from school. As much as he probably wanted to play that foolish time waste of a box, he saw Scott and Derek curled up in their beds and not feeling well. So following his own instinct, he climbed into bed with them and just.. Whoosh. Took their tired away and made it his own, sharing it,” she whispered.

John just laughed. “I fear for anyone that tries to break those three up. Pack or no pack,” he said.

Deviously, Talia tip-toed into her nearby bedroom. “Just a minute, I've got to get a camera and photograph this! They will simply DIE when I show this as they're all grown up!” she cackled.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

1st Grade : 1991 (Ages 7-8)

 

With Spring Break finally upon the Beacon Hills School district, Talia and Melissa's long planned camping trip would finally go into gear. Scott, Talia, and Derek would get to hunt as a pack and find their meals. Melissa and Stiles had offered to cook and prep the meat, while John had decided to crank out his fishing line again.

Considering Stiles' great disdain for watching Derek and Scott hunt (or rather, the look of horror when “Bambi” would be brought back to the camp), he was surprisingly excited for the trip all the same.

John smiled as Stiles ran back and forth around the house, tidying up and trying to expend his excess energy. He'd really flourished in first grade, thanks to Derek and Scott. Stiles got regular sun and exercise, always had play dates and sleepovers EVERY weekend, and had somehow ended up being one of the more popular kids in school. Then again, being friends with the only two werewolves in the grade level likely had something to do with it. Or Derek's evil glaring. One or the other.

“IS IS TIME TO GO YET?!” Stiles yelled for the hundredth time.

Chuckling, John shook his head. “Not yet stiles, we've still got to wait still Scott's mom gets off work. We can't leave without her,” he explained, again, for the hundredth time. A fact which bothered John. In the past year, Stiles had trouble sitting still and had zero patience. He figured it was a kid thing, but watching Scott and Derek made him think otherwise.

His thoughts were ultimately interrupted by a loud ring. The phone in their kitchen was going off, and John forced himself off the couch to answer it.

“Stilinksi,” John said, answering his phone with a curt response.

Stiles pushed past his father, and ran up the stairs yelling that he was getting the rest of his camping equipment “super ready”. John smiled, eager to see his child so excited for his first camping experience that wasn't just in the Hales' backyard.

“John, this is David Whittemore,” the other line answered, in a dark and panicked tone.

Resisting the urge to groan uncontrollably, John chose to instead head the town's dick-wad prosecutor out and not hang up on him immediately. “David, it's been far too long. What can I do for you?” he responded, in a fake air of pleasure.

A deep sigh later, John could hear David's head thump against a wall.

“John, my son Jackson is a demon. He hadn't been feeling well the last week and can't keep food down, so I took him to Dr. Deaton, and he confirmed it. My son is an incubus,” he spat out rapidly.

John's heart fell and he immediately pitied David and his wife.

Demons were the lowest of the low and were hunted extensively throughout the world. The worst was when they were children, since they didn't show any demonic powers until at least age 6 or 7. The local Argents, a local family of exorcists, vowed to eliminate them all.

Though as much as John felt bad for Jackson, he felt even worse for Jackson's parents. Child switching while still in the womb was a pastime of demons, especially the sexually active incubi and succubi. Meaning that their “real” child had been killed and replaced with the offspring of a demon that had murdered their child.

“David, I'm so sorry. My condolences,” he replied, suddenly eager to sprint upstairs and hug his son.

There was a whimper on the other line, which David ended as soon as it had begun. “We're raising him as human. I had to tell Jackson, and Deaton knows, but this secret cannot leave our families. If it does, he'll be hunted and killed. I'm not letting that happen to my son, and to hell if anyone says he's not my own,” he shot back angrily.

John smiled. The Whittemore family were certainly the most annoying family in town and definitely the ones who threw their cash around the most, but at least David had some core values when it came to raising children.

Though a sudden realization hit John, realizing what having an incubus in Beacon Hills would be like.

“An incubus has to feed, David. Even as a child, they have to cuddle and hold hands with people. By teenage years, they're sexual predators that hunt for their meals. I'm not worried about those two things to be honest, but what I AM worried about is if they feed on humans like they're supposed to, he'll kill them,” John said, trying to keep his heart rate steady. He knew what David was asking of him. He wasn't blind.

“John, had your wife been alive, she would be the one we would ask for this favor. That's no longer the case, so there's only one person that can feed Jackson without being killed in this town that we'd trust with this information. The town's last wisp, Stiles,” David said, with a grave tone in his voice.

“DADDY, CAN WE GO YET?!” Stiles shouted from the top step, holding his knapsack in both hands. John didn't notice the game boy hanging out the side pocket.

“John, my son hasn't had a meal in a week because food won't satisfy him anymore. He's lost 10 pounds, has blue lips, and can't even get off the couch because he's so weak. He needs to feed, but my wife and I can't do it, and the stuff from the local hexer isn't working anymore! There's nobody else in this town that can help him but your son! Please, I'll give you anything you want! Money! Power! Hell, I'll make you Sheriff and fund your campaign. Just help my son, PLEASE! He's going to die if we can't figure this out!” David begged.

John turned away, lowering his voice to a hushed whisper.

“David, do you realize you're asking my son be Jackson's meal every day? I know it's just touching and hugging, but DAMN, he'd be sucking my son's energy away! He's not even fully grown yet, I can't just-” John began to tirade, as Stiles pulled at his shirt. Glancing down, he was met with a set of sad eyes.

“Daddy... How come you're sad? What's wrong? You're sad!” Stiles stated, rather than asked. Stiles was hurt, because “Sad Daddy was supposed to let Stiles take care of him”. The human mood ring caused John to groan.

“Let me talk to Stiles about this David, I'll call back in a minute,” John answered, slamming the phone back on the hook. Walking through the living room, John pulled at his hair.

“Daddy... Daddy, you're sad! Let me help!” Stiles shouted, running for his father's legs.

John stopped him short with his hand and bent down to the child's level.

“ _My seven year old son is the only hope. Is this a joke?”_ John asked himself.

“Stiles... Do you know a boy named Jackson Whittemore?” he asked plainly.

Stiles' eyes slanted. “Yes, and he's a big bully and I hate him! Can we go camping now? I really want to go camping now” he shouted.

“Son, Jackson... Jackson is very sick needs your help. You're the only one who can help him now that Mommy's gone. I know that it might be scary, but I wondered if you might be willing to help him. Like you helped Daddy after Mommy died,” John said, letting it all out in the open immediately. There would be no lies in the Stilinski home, that was for certain. No sugar coating or exaggerated tales. His wife made him promise her.

From disgust of Jackson to teary in less than a second, Stiles pulled his father out of the house and towards the car without a second to think on it.

“Daddy, I gotta help him, now!” Stiles shouted.

John smiled as he was drug to the car and eventually pushed by Stiles.

“ _John, we have to help them, now!”_

“ _Claudia, you have zero love for the Martins. Why would you cancel OUR vacation to help someone you hate?”_

Recalling the sting that was Claudia's painful slap, John chuckled to himself.

“ _Because it's the right thing to do John! God, I hope our son has my brain and your eyes!”_

John started the engine, watching as Stiles buckled himself into their truck at warp speed.

“He did,” John whispered quietly to himself.

 

+

 

The Whittemore Estate was on the nicer side of town. A part of town that would have a gazebo instead of a shed, and where fried chicken was rude to serve.

John tried not to feel too out of place as he parked his rusting truck into the Whittemore house. Stiles bolted out of the passenger seat and into his father's arms as John unlocked his side.

The two did not even have to wait as David opened the door as they hit the front step.

“Thank you so much for coming. Stiles, Jackson is in the living room,” David said, pointing towards the inside of his house.

Stiles dashed through the hardwood floors and into the carpeted area on the backside of the house.

Covered in blankets from head to toe, all that was visible of Jackson were his hands and face, neither of which were very pretty. The hands were more like a skeleton, bony and thin beyond recognition. His face was much of the same, with the exception of the dark circles under Jackson's eyes, and the ice blue glow of his demon eyes.

Mrs. Whittemore kept holding out a glass orb to Jackson. One similar to Stiles', but barely fluttering in a pale white. Both hands were covered in rubber gloves, the kind used for washing dishes.

“Please, sweetheart, you have to feed on this! You're an incubus, you can't just eat chicken soup to feel better!” she pleaded loudly.

A fresh set of tears ran down Jackson's stained and red face. “Not an inky bus. I'm.. I'm human! I'm human! I need medicine!” he stammered out, barely able to form the words.

Sobbing into her hands, Mrs. Whittemore crumpled to her knees.

Stiles walked past her, and stopped by Jackson’s side.

The demon's blue eyes shifted, practically shaking with hunger. Stiles was a full course meal to the demon inside of Jackson', but the boy didn't bother to move. '

“Hi Jackson, sorry you're sick,” Stiles announced, putting his and out and cupping Jackson's face.

The pain in Jackson's eyes seemed to let go, if only for a moment.

John and David had finally caught up with him.

“Stiles? Are you ready to make Jackson feel better?” John asked, kneeling next to his son and rubbing his back.

“Yeah. How do I make him feel better?” Stiles asked, looking to his father with those same damn eyes his mother had. John cringed as he even remembered her asking that very same question to so many different people over her life.

John shook off the ghost of her voice, patting Stiles on the back.

“Just lie down next to Jackson and act like you're making Derek feel better after a big fight with Scott over the Nintendo. You might tingle a bit, but that's okay, it just means Jackson's eating your extra energy. It won't hurt, I watched Mommy do it a hundred thousand billion times,” John directed playful, trying to remember exactly how his wife had described it before. Not that his wife had ever worked with an incubus before, but she had offered her energy to a newly turned vampire that refused to drink blood. Practically the same thing, right?

Stiles didn't wait for an invitation. He climbed onto the couch right next to Jackson, hugging him from behind. Taking a deep breath, Stiles closed his eyes.

Jackson's eyes fluttered in a conflict of blue and red, sparking as the child groaned and hissed. Frightened at first as huge fangs grew out of Jackson's face, John calmed down the moment he heard Stiles' again.

Humming, Stiles fished his hand underneath Jackson, and took his tiny, bone-shriveled hand.

“You can eat Jackson, my Daddy says its okay. Even if you are a poopyhead sometimes, I don't want you sick! Cuz then you'd miss our party at school, and that's not fair! We're having PIZZA!” Stiles said, as though it were the most wonderful thing in the world.

Jackson's hand trembled, but finally intertwined with Stiles'. He started to sob, with large tears adding to the puddle already by his head.

A gentle whirring filled the air, as Jackson's eyes shifted to a venomous pink. Slowly but surely, Jackson's hand regained its health. The wrinkles and bones were hidden again by a layer of fat, and color began to return to his body.

“Oh thank God!” Mrs. Whittemore shrieked, falling down on her son and crying into his chest.

John stepped forward as well, careful to keep his distance from Jackson. Strings of energy kept dancing off stiles and melding into Jackson's body. A mixture of the incubus feeding and Stiles projecting his emotional energy willingly.

“Feeling okay son?” John asked, beaming with pride. His son was selfless, just like his mother.

Stiles had been holding his breath, ultimately letting go and giggling loudly. “It tickles Daddy! It don't hurt at all! It's like Momma used to do!” he shouted, in a youthful radiance.

David wiped away a set of tears and shook John's hand firmly. “He'll need to feed every day John, and probably at school too. We can setup a meeting with the counselor to make sure they can do it discreetly. I can't thank you enough John, anything you want, it's yours...” he said, grabbing John and hugging him tightly in the chest.

“Three things,” John answered immediately.

As he leaned back up, David nodded. “Anything,” he replied.

John took a deep breath, scratching the back of his head. “My son goes to college. ANY college he wants. I'm not a fool, and I know I can't provide that for him on a cop wage,” he explained.

“Done,” David replied without a moment of hesitation.

“Two... If Stiles ever feels uncomfortable, he gets to stop, PERIOD,” John added.

“Naturally,” David said warmly.

John took a deep breath. “And three... Jackson's going to have to go camping this weekend so two overbearing Hale wolf pups don't murder him in his sleep after they smell him on Stiles tonight,” he whispered.

David's confidence wavered at the last wish.

 

+

 

Jackson was still weak, that much was certain. He had a pale tone, had trouble staying awake for long periods of time, and couldn't let go of Stiles.

John glanced to the passenger side. Sure enough, Jackson was still holding Stiles' hand, continuing to feed after his ten days of starvation. For Stiles, it was nothing, who kept kicking his feet back and forth in the truck.

“It's gonna be FUN Jackson. I get to cook with Miss McCall, and dad's gonna go FISHING, and my friends go hunt! It's like we're cowboys!” Stiles exclaimed.

John chuckled. The boy hadn't stopped talking since 5 that afternoon, when Jackson had been deemed “fit” enough by his mother to finally leave for their trip. Talia, Melissa and the boys had left ahead of them, so John didn't even have the opportunity to fully explain the situation. He pined for the brick car phone he kept in his squad car they used for wireless calls, and wished everyone on the planet had one. Still, Stiles seemed to be getting friendly with Jackson, which would hopefully keep Derek at bay. Scott? Scott would be fine, he'd gotten over the psycho jealousy thing sometime in the first summer vacation they'd shared together after Kindergarten Derek though? Derek was worse than ever.

Passing into the gated forest entrance and by the camping sites, John glanced at the many other visitors around them. Mostly werewolves, to be honest, in different states of shifting. Most were in their wolf forms, playing with pups or sleeping next to the open fire.

“We're here!” Stiles shouted, bouncing with excitement.

John gulped, spotting the Hale's camper trailer from a mile away. The four members of the pack were already surrounding the campfire, cooking something on the open flame. He parked the vehicle next to the trailer, fully ready for an intricate speech on how to approach Derek, when Stiles leapt out of the truck with Jackson in tow.

“Stiles, WAIT!” John yelled, scrambling to get out of the truck and rush after them.

The pack watched Stiles and Jackson run up to them.

“We're here! Oh, and this is Jackson, Alpha Talia and Miss McCall!” Stiles explained mid-run.

“STILES!” John screamed.

Then, it happened. Derek's nose sniffed the air, and saw the two touching. His eyes shifted into a dark red.

“Derek, calm down,” Talia ordered, not all that bothered by her son's pack mentality.

Derek howled, disobeying his mother and snarling in Jackson's direction. He'd half-shifted, gaining massive claws and fangs meant only for shredding prey.

“Derek, stop,” Talia ordered. Her eyes flashed red, using her Alpha command. She was a tad more irritated at this point.

Waves of pressure shot through Derek's head, but he failed to relent. He kept baring his fangs and teeth at Jackson.

Talia's eyes grew wide and she dropped her plate of food on the ground.

“Derek...” she whispered to herself.

Scott hunkered down, hiding behind his mother and whining.

Ignoring the warning, Stiles pulled Jackson forward, taking a seat on one of the long wooden bars that would act as chairs during their stay. Easily within mauling distance.

“Derek, it's okay! Jackson's my friend now! You don't gotta be mad!” Stiles said, waving his hand back and forth with Jackson on the opposite side of the campfire.

Jackson waved meekly at Derek, who stood a solid half inch taller and already had developed a solid muscle tone. Definitely Alpha material.

Standing up, Derek reverted to his full human self and . “Let go of him, NOW,” he barked,

In a mixture of shame and fear, Jackson let go of Stiles' hand and quickly curled up into a ball on the wooden bench.

Derek walked over to Stiles's bench, grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away from Jackson.

“He's a bully! Why's he your friend now?! Do you like him more than me!? Is he your pack now?!” Derek yelled.

John rushed to intervene, stopped as Talia held him back.

“They need to work this out themselves. It's a pack thing,” she whispered quietly.

Stiles blinked a couple of times to Derek's question, unaware of the adult audience watching him nervously. “Jackson's not a bully no more, and he's just my friend! You're my best friend Derek, always!” he replied, as a frown crossed his face. “Derek, you're mad. You're mad at me...” he whimpered.

Collapsing inward, Derek's face manged to look both pissed and hurt all at the same time.

“I'm not mad at you!” Derek shouted. He quickly pointed to Jackson. “I'm mad at him! He's a butt faced doo doo brain that makes fun of you at school! Why'd you bring him?! This was OUR vacation!” he bellowed, shooting Jackson his death glare.

The entire camp was quiet. All quiet until Stiles started hiccuping and tears began to form in his eyes.

“You're mad at me! You hate me!” Stiles shouted, as he began to blubber.

Derek's face fell by a mile. All the anger oozed out, replaced by abject embarrassment.

“I just... I just... I just wanted Jackson to have fun! We wanna be friends now! I... I wanted us to have fun!” Stiles whimpered, wiping his tears away. “You're mad at me now! I'm sorry Derek, I'm sorry!” he cried out.

Gritting his teeth, Derek moved forward, and hugged stiles. He rubbed his nose in Stiles' neck, huffed and let go. Walking away, Derek folded his arms. “I'm not mad anymore. Sorry. Jackson can be your dumb friend,” he grumbled angrily.

Talia's eyes blew out. “Derek Hale... Did you just... Did you just APOLOGIZE?!” she shouted unexpectedly, as though she'd uncovered the secret of life.

 

 

+

 

Jackson hadn't been accepted into the pack on the camping trip. Despite the fun they all had playing tag (except for when Derek would tackle Jackson a LITTLE too hard) and climbing trees, neither Scott or Derek accepted him. Talia stayed out of the matter, letting her children decide how to handle the situation.

So Spring Break came to an end, and with it a return to first grade stress.

Sitting in the cafeteria, Stiles had been pouting the entire time, despite Derek giving him his dessert and an extra chocolate milk.

“Stiles, eat,” Derek said, ribbing Stiles in the gut.

“Dad's gonna be mad,” Stiles said, dropping his head in shame.

Scott, starting on his second hamburger, shook his head. “It's okay.. It's just one test!” he offered kindly.

Groaning, Stiles huffed and folded his arms.

“You moved weird,” Derek said, turning to face his best friend. “Like, you moved a lot. It was annoying,” he said.

Scott nodded as well. “You kept tapping your pencil and foot,” he offered, having already engorged his burger into his mouth.

Before he could adequately explain that his brain wouldn't shut up for him to take the test right, Stiles felt a tug on the back of his shirt.

Turning around, he was met with Jackson. Since he wasn't pack, Derek didn't let him each lunch with them until he was “okay”. Instead, Jackson still sat with his old friends, Lydia and Danny.

“I'll be right back,” Stiles said, trying to keep Derek happy.

Stiles walked with Jackson over to the corner of the cafeteria. Based on Jackson's eyes, Stiles knew what he needed.

Jackson wouldn't look Stiles in the eye and fidgeted with his new leather black gloves, which he had to wear while at school with humans. “Hungry,” he mumbled under his breath. Sniffling, Jackson held back tears.

“Okay. Let's go to Miss Andersen’s office,” Stiles said, taking Jackson's gloved hand and leading him forward.

After a short trip through the many hallways, Jackson and Stiles reached the counselor's door. Stiles knocked, smiling at the bright sun Miss Anderson had painted on her door.

“Come in,” a warm voice echoed from inside.

Opening the door, Stiles and Jackson entered the plush carpeted room. There were several toys on the ground, and other kids staying with Miss Anderson for lunch.

Stiles walked up to Miss Anderson, and leaned into her ear. “Jackson's hungry,” he explained.

Despite Jackson's father giving them the freedom to “eat” in Miss Andersen’s room, Jackson rarely, if ever, ate at school. Usually, he fed while on the bus, but never got enough since it was just a twenty minute ride.

Jackson blushed, completely mortified and sniffling.

Miss Anderson smiled. “It's okay Jackson, there's nothing to be afraid of or ashamed of. I'm proud that you knew you were hungry and got Stiles! Getting sick is no fun, and it's dangerous to be hungry for too long!” she explained, walking over and patting Jackson on the shoulder.

Stiles quickly noticed something was off. Miss Anderson was wearing a weird leather glove.

“What's that?” Stiles asked, pointing to the object in question.

With a crumpled face, Miss Anderson glanced away from both of them. “Well, Stiles, it's not safe for humans to touch Jackson. He's a demon, so sometimes we need to be extra careful!” she explained.

The words hit Jackson like a truck. Hiccuping alongside his tears, Jackson tried to wipe them away with his sleeve.

In her own sad expression, Miss Anderson pointed to the room in the corner. “Stiles, there's a room in there where Jackson can feed without the other kids seeing. There are blankets and a mat that you can lay down on. Take as long as you need, I'll make sure your teacher knows where you're at if you need more than the lunch hour,” she explained, with a kind smile.

Stiles nodded, once again leading Jackson. He opened the door, revealing a small room about the size of storage area. Just like she'd said, a fort of blankets and a kindergarten mat had been laid out in the corner. Bowls of snacks for Stiles, who would be starving after Jackson ate, had been placed on the table as well.

Frowning, Jackson shut the door behind them, still sniveling to himself.

Stiles jumped into the blanket fort, laying down casually. After a few moments, Jackson joined him, hugging Stiles from behind.

“Thanks,” Jackson hiccuped.

The low hum of energy transferring whistled in the air. Jackson's eyes turned a sharp pink, and he relaxed into Stiles.

Close contact sent a shiver down Stiles' spine. “You're cold.. Your heart is cold,” Stiles remarked sadly. “What's wrong? Why are you sad and cold?” he asked, as though he were in pain himself.

Jackson sniffled. “I hate being a demon,” he said darkly.

“Why?” Stiles asked quietly.

“Mommy and Daddy don't tuck me in. They don't read me stories. No more kisses. Cuz I'm a demon. They can't touch me, and I can't touch them. They hate me,” Jackson hiccuped, in between loud sobs.

Stiles frowned. “That's not nice. You gotta come sleep over at my house. Daddy always tucks me and Derek and Scott into bed, no matter what! Alpha Talia does too at her house when I visit,” he said, instinctively holding Jackson that much closer.

Jackson trembled.

“I don't wanna be a demon! I wanna be human, like mommy and daddy! It's not fair! It's not fair!” he said, crying softly to himself.

Stiles felt the waves of Jackson's emotions hit him. Awful, dark and sad.

 

“ _We were born so that others don't have to suffer alone.”_

 

Stiles smiled as his mother's warm voice. 

“Can you keep a secret?” Stiles asked.

Sniffling as he tried to calm down, Jackson nodded. “Uh-huh,” he whispered.

Stiles let go of Jackson's hand and shifted away from him. “Just a second! I know how to make you happy! Momma used to do it, and I know how! Daddy don't like it though, so don't tell him!” he whispered.

Jackson watched as Stiles moved over to the table with snacks and drinks. Stiles leaned over it, and little glass contacts fell out of his eyes and onto the table. Wiping his eyes of a few tears from irritation of the contacts, Stiles moved back to Jackson's side. He plopped down, face-to-face and stared at him straight in the eye.

“I'll make all the bad feelings go away forever and ever,” Stiles whispered quietly.

Mesmerized, Jackson kept eye contact with Stiles.

Until Stiles' eyes turned solid white and everything went very fuzzy.

 

+

 

After lunch had finished, the first graders raced outside for recess. Unlike being baby kindergarteners, Derek could tackle and tag with the big kids, and he loved it. Glaring up from his recent victim, a fourth grader who he'd finally tagged after a five minute chase. He watched Jackson at the dodge ball court. He'd come back with Stiles after lunch MUCH happier than before. Even from across the playground, Derek could tell he smelled better.

“I WIN!” Jackson said, beaming brightly as he glared smugly at Scott.

Scott huffed, growling in his direction. “You cheated!” he accused, standing up alongside the rest of his team.

Jackson rolled his eyes. “Stupid head, you can't CHEAT in dodge ball, you're just dumb!” he shot back.

As a group of rowdy 7 year olds argued over the sport of dodgeball, Derek dusted himself off. A pain in his gut had him sniffing around for Stiles. It didn't take long to find him. Stiles had the overwhelming smell of the earth. Like a mixture of dirt, trees, ash, and fresh water. He smelled of nature itself.

Stiles was leaned up next to the brick wall of the school. His head was down, caught in his knees.

Derek's chest thudded painfully.

Without wasting any time, Derek jogged over to Stiles. The closer he got, the more his chest hurt. Derek bent down, sitting next to Stiles.

“You okay? You don't look good,” Derek asked, putting his hand and arm around Stiles. He pulled his friend closer and flinched at the ice-cold touch of his skin. Stiles was colder than the freezer.

“You're cold!” Derek exclaimed, clamoring over his friend with a pained look.

Stiles was smiling, but his solid black eyes, lacking in any color said something different. “It's ok... I'm... I'm gonna... Goo...g.d..d.f...a.d.fd...” he stammered, losing the ability to speak. Falling to the side, Stiles hit the ground with a loud crunch from the ice that had formed on his arms.

Fabric ripped as Derek shifted, leaving his outfit scattered over the playground as everyone watched the scene unfold.

Scott and Jackson were both on the scene within seconds, rushing from the dodgeball court and ending the argument prematurely..

Scott nodded as Derek growled at him.

“He says put Stiles on his back and hold him,” Scott said, turning to Jackson.

Nodding, Jackson and Scott did as they were told. They managed to get Stiles on the wolf just as the teachers and students started to gather on the scene.

Jackson kicked his leg over Derek and rode him, holding Stiles in his arms and shivering at the touch.

“Hold on!” Scott said, just before he shifted as well. The light brown fur shredded through his clothes as well, and the Alpha growled at the teachers and students that dared to get near.

“Scott, Derek... What's going on?” one teacher asked, holding her hands up as Scott barked in her direction.

Derek didn't waste a second of his time, easily carrying both Stiles and Jackson, and scaling the fence. Scott wasn't far behind, staying behind just long enough to ensure none of the teachers were going to stop them.

“DEREK HALE, JACKSON WHITTEMORE, SCOTT MCCALL, STILES STILINKSI GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!”

 

 

 

+

 

John scrambled through the hospital doors and buzzed himself through with his badge

The report had hit his car's radio scanner and it didn't take a genius to put two and two together. Two unnamed wolf pups and two humans had escaped the elementary school. Not a few minutes later, and the emergency line from the hospital picked up, requesting police assistance as several were-pups caused a disturbance in the local hospital recovery room.

Not a few steps into the recover center did he spot Scott's wolf form growling at a gaggle of orderlies that apparently wanted inside. Jackson was beside him, putting his hands up to guard the door, glaring at them all with his demonic blue eyes.

“Of course it'd be them,” John said mockingly to himself, groaning.

Stepping closer, both Jackson and Scott turned their attention towards him.

“Mr. Stiles Dad!” Jackson exclaimed, lowering his arms while Scott retracted his teeth and started panting playfully.

John turned to the orderlies and shook his head. “Trust me, if you can't get past these two, you're not getting past the other one in the room. Take a coffee break,” he instructed before turning back to Jackson and Scott. “What happened?” he asked, pulling off his police coat as Scott started to shift back. John covered him up, his coat thankfully big enough to keep Scott's modesty.

“Stiles is sick! He got real cold, so Derek wolfed out and made Jackson ride him here so he could hold Stiles! Stiles was sick, so we had to go to the hospital, that's what Alpha Talia said to do if we got hurt and she wasn't there!” he explained rapidly, as tears started welling up in the boy's eyes. “Is Stiles gonna be okay!?” he whimpered.

John sighed, unable to take the sight of Jackson and Scott glaring at him with those EYES. Even as a demon, Jackson could still lay on the innocent look very well.

“Can I see him?” John asked, nodding to the knob.

Scott nodded. His face went dark. “I'll protect you while you make Stiles all better!” he said firmly, just before shifting back into his wolf-self under John's coat. Jackson opened the door for him, but very begrudgingly. Scott was apparently on guard duty.

John would be having a very serious talk with all four boys when this was over.

Walking through the door, John was met with an unusual sight Stile was hooked up to a heart monitor and IV, while Derek's entire body was sat on top of him. The Alpha's fur was bristling, giving the “Mega Derek Wolf Death Stare” (as Stiles called it) to a nurse that had several sharp tools in her hand.

“Having trouble?” John asked, stepping through the door.

Derek's ears twitched, moving his head back and forth to the new visitor. He didn't let up his pose, with his legs hunched and ready to leap at any second.

“Oh thank God....” the nurse said, moving slowly towards John and shaking his hand.

“John Stilinksi, father of Stiles. Having trouble with Derek, I see?” he asked, rather obviously.

The nurse cackled.

“Trouble? More like we're having a heart attack at all times! He ran the doctor out who said that Stiles needed to have some blood tests run. Then he just sat on Stiles' body, and growls at anyone that gets near him. Derek's using his healing on Stiles, so I didn't think it was a problem, but he's not getting better and Derek won't let us anywhere near him, so I have no idea what to do!” the nurse remarked, clearly out of her element. “I don't want to have to call security, but they've got tranquilizing darts,” she whispered.

Derek barked loudly, letting saliva fly across the room.

“I think he heard me,” the nurse whispered.

John laughed. “That's Derek. He's made Stiles part of their family pack and is Stiles' best friend. His pack is sick and he's not going to let anyone get to him. Frankly, he'd chew my throat off if he had his full canines in yet. So just back away and let me do the talking” he explained, slowly moving forward.

Derek's growl intensified, bearing his teeth.

“Derek, it's da...da....dad.... It's... ok.....” Stiles chattered, his teeth clamoring together as his body shook from the cold.

Even after Stiles' affirmation, It was clear that Derek was NOT going to get up. His fluffy wolf butt was not about to leave Stiles' side and would be planted there until his pack felt better. Though based on the hold Stiles had on Derek, it was clear his son felt the same way about his friend.

John sighed, holding his hand up to the wolf. Derek sniffed it and gently backed down, still grumbling deep in his throat. John quickly began petting the pup behind the ears. The exact spot he KNEW would calm the possessive Alpha down.

“Derek, it's okay. It's John, Stiles' father. I know you're Alpha, and I know Stiles is sick, but please let me see and speak to Stiles, okay? It's very important I make sure he's not going to get any sicker,” he asked, rather than demanded. Wolf 101, courtesy of Talia. Apparently asking permission was the proper way to get a wolf's attention and ESSENTIAL for an Alpha. It signified respect, rather than a challenge when he demanded things. As their friendship grew, Scott never had an issue with protectiveness over Stiles, but with Derek is was night and day different.

The low growl softened to a threatening hum of disapproval, but Derek laid his head down on Stiles' neck, rubbing his nose and face over the child's neck. John recognized it as scenting, and more importantly as a sign that Derek was going to back down for him.

Taking his opportunity, John finally got close enough to stiles to touch his hair. Even touching Stiles' head, John jerked away from the sheer cold.

Sighing, John shook his head. “Like mother like son... You are literally the worst wisp of all time,” he thought to himself, as he folded his arms.

“Who'd you use your transference on?” John asked exasperatedly.

Stiles, still shivering from the cold despite the heating pad that was a were-pup on his chest, chattered a response.

“J...J..Jack...Jackson,” he finally spat out, only after Derek's head laid down on his chest to return the warmth.

John slapped himself on the face, groaning.

“You're going to be fine. You know how this works kiddo, you just at WAY too much negative emotion. Have fun being a popsicle for the next couple of days,” he said, kissing Stiles on the head and moving back towards the door. There was nothing to do. Stiles had made his bed and was going to lie in it.

John rubbed Derek on the head, scratching him with a deep sigh. “Bonehead's gonna be cold for a while. He'll be fine, so stop growling so much, he's not going to die or get sicker,”

The nurse looked genuinely confused. “So this is... This is normal? You're not worried?” she asked.

Nodding, John shot a glare at Derek. “Make sure he feels better okay? You're sleeping over for the next couple of nights fur-butt,” he answered.

The pup nodded, never once lifting up from Stiles' body. He snorted through his nose, as if to accept the challenge with gusto.

John smiled. Of all the things he'd hated about the Hales, Derek was not one of those things. He was, without a doubt, Kyle's blood. There was no need to worry about his son, except for the possibility of expulsion for leaving school grounds riding a werewolf.

Satisfied with the care, John turned back to the confused nurse.

“Stiles is a Wisp. Long story short, he has an ability that lets him steal emotions from another person. Usually, wisps do this to make themselves stronger or heal themselves. In this case, he stole Jackson's depression and anxiety, in an act to try and heal another person instead of themselves. Incredibly noble, but also stupid as hell. Wisps get sick from negative emotions, which is why he's like this now. His body has all kinds of extreme reactions to emotions, but at least this is one of the milder ones. He'll recover shortly thanks to Derek and his temp should start rising in the next couple of hours. Just make him comfortable, get him plenty of blankets and hot drinks, but medically there's nothing else you can do for him right now,” John said, speaking to the nurse as he walked past her. “Send me the bill, I'll split it with the wolf's Alpha,” he said, noting the terrified glare of the orderlies who were still being harassed outside the front door by Scott.

 

+

 

Bedtime was not happening after the hospital visit and daring escape of Beacon Elementary, especially given that the kids did get to stay downstairs on the couch and watch movies. Stiles, despite the three heating pads, two wolfpups that acted as a built-in furnace, and Jackson by his side, still felt like death.

Chattering through his teeth, Stiles couldn't believe this is what Jackson felt like on the inside. It was AWFUL.

As another wave of cold traveled down his spine, Stiles' grabbed onto Derek's neck and pulled him closer.

Derek whined, attempting to lick Stiles's face. His ears were flat on his head, clearly worried.

Scott joined him, adjusting his head so that it fell on Stiles' cold hand.

Jackson frowned, sacrificing his blanket to Stiles so that he might get warmer.

“I'm sorry Stiles,” Jackson whined, sounding like the other two wolves in human skin. “I didn't know I'd made you sick. I'm really really sorry,” he said, staying a safe distance away from Stiles on the couch. He couldn't touch stiles, or he'd feed.

“s...s..s.s.s.df.ds.f.... Okay,” Stiles chattered, sneezing loudly through his stopped up nose.

Stepping out of the kitchen, John rejoined Team Couch, with a tray of piping hot cocoa in his hands. Well, three mugs and two bowls to be exact.

“Take a breather fur-butts,” John said, putting their bowls on the ground.

Scott stretched out on the couch, shook his body and padded down to the floor where he lapped up the goodness eagerly.

Jackson and Stiles took their mugs, both sipping down the warmth.

Derek stayed where he was, head firmly on Stiles' chest.

“Derek, you can get down for just a few seconds to have some cocoa,” John said, petting the wolf-pup's head and scratching the magical spot.

A huff through the wolf's snout made “no” very clear.

John rolled his eyes. “Meanwhile, your bath should be ready now Stiles. Why don't you go hop in the tub and warm up?” he asked his son politely.

“Y....Yes....” Stiles stammered, still shivering.

Jackson and Scott were the first up, helping Stiles walk through his own home and to his bathroom.

Derek began to rise as well, stopped as John held him down.

“Don't think so. Do not need wet wolves in the house, and you'd make Stiles colder with wet fur. You be ready to help him warm up after he dries,” John instructed.

Derek landed his head flat on his paws, huffing through his nose angrily.

Chuckling, John shook his head. “You know... You're okay kid,” he muttered, plopping down right next to Derek and letting out a deep sigh. “I just want to thank you Derek,” John explained. He raised Derek up off the couch and into his lap, where he hugged the pup tightly.

Derek's ears went up, trying to make sure he heard that correctly. Nobody ever thanked him for anything. Especially Alpha Talia.

“My son means the world to me, and you are always there for him. He's getting sun, exercise, and is much happier than he used to be. Even now that he's got some mildly dangerous friends, I can see that his life is going to be a good one. You're a good friend, and a great Alpha,” John said, rubbing Derek's back.

Derek let his ears fall back into their natural state. He relaxed into John, as a mixture of wolf noises went through the Alpha's throat

“Just want you to know three things. One, that you and Scott and Jackson are all members of the Stilinksi Family and are always welcome in our home day or night. Two, that I now officially owe you a favor as the member of the Beacon Hills Police department, and-” John said, taking a deep breath.

Derek leaned up, waiting for the third commend.

John laughed. “Actually, let's wait on that third one until you're a little older and I make sure I'm not seeing things that aren't there,” he said, patting Derek on the back.

The laughter stopped as Derek nipped John on the nose angrily at keeping a secret.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

1992 : 2nd Grade

 

Talia sighed loudly in her living room as yet another series of wolfish whines came from the upstairs. Pain-ridden whines of pups calling for their mothers. Or in Derek's case “Alpha Talia”, because the boy refused to call her mother.  Wherever or whoever that annoying habit had come from, she wanted to smack them.

Melissa, on the couch attempting to read a book, twitched.

Using the remote control, Talia turned up the volume to the television set. “You know that fool on television that keeps spouting off about werewolves being the superior race on the planet because we don't get sick? The dumb-ass never had two sick pups, or he'd shut his goddamn face,” she spat out, rubbing her eyes. Dark circles had formed underneath.

“I'll be honest, I'm a nurse and had no idea werewolves could get sick. I've NEVER seen one, and I've been doing this a very long time,” Melissa remarked, cringing as Scott howled loudly. Even as a human, she had long since learned her own son's voice in both forms.

Talia shook her head. “No, we don't get sick as ADULTS. Kids spend their pre-puberty strengthening their immune system. Until they go through their final change, they're not immune. Well, maybe a little more immune, given our healing, but it still happens,” she explained quietly.

Another loud shriek came from upstairs, which cracked the glass of water in front of Talia.

“Inner ear infections. Incredibly painful and pretty much nothing we can do for them. I hate it when kids get this,” Melissa said, covering her ears as Derek growled loudly enough to shake the house.

The sound of childhood pain soon found itself upset by the noise of their front door knocking.

“If that's a neighbor complaining about the noise, I will feed them to my children,” Talia grumbled, while Melissa stood up. Reaching the door, she pulled it open.

Standing there was 8 year old Stiles Stilinksi, covered in dirt and shivering cold. October had already brought an ugly chill to the area.

Stiles was sobbing. Huge tears ran down his red face,

“Stiles! What on earth, how did you get here?!” Melissa exclaimed, picking him up and holding him tightly to her chest. With the boys sick, Stiles' father had been forced to hire a babysitter instead of relying on the Hales for after school care.

Hiccuping, Stiles shook his head. “They're hurting! They don't feel good, and they're hurting!”

Melissa rubbed Stiles' back. “Sweetie, I thought you had a babysit-” she said, immediately cutting off her words. “You broke out of your house, didn't you?” she asked, in a mixture of awe and profound fear of what a teenage version of Stiles might be capable of.

Still hiccuping loudly, Stiles nodded his head. “Jane didn't let me come see 'em! Daddy wouldn't either, so I walked! I want to see Derek! I want to see Scott!” he shouted.

Talia had caught on to the commotion and stood up from her chair. “Sweetie, they're sick right now. Even if you can't catch sickness like they can, I didn't want to let you see them hurting,” she explained. Moving forward, she caught sight of the mud all over Stiles' shoes and jeans. There hadn't been rain in a few weeks, which meant that there were only a few places Stiles could have picked that up from.

Talia's eyes grew wide.

Given that it was eight at night and that Stiles would have been home from school at around 4, she quickly realized that the path Stiles usually drove went by a local quarry. A muddy quarry.

“Stiles, please tell me that you did not walk for the last 4 hours to come to my home,” Talia begged, holding in the sense of pride in her son's pack mate, and attempting to let out an air of disappointment.

“Are you mad at me?” Stiles asked, wiping his eyes clean.

Talia took Stiles from Melissa, cuddling him under her neck and hugging him tightly. “No sweetie, but you could have gotten hurt! There are dangerous things in this world, and I'd simply die if you were hurt by any of them!” she said, mentally picturing the deranged demons that lived in the forest area. The ones she'd seen on multiple occasions decapitating deer.

Popping beside Talia, Melissa shook her head angrily. “Stiles, don't you EVER do something dangerous like this again! How would your father feel if he'd been left all alone without you?” she exclaimed loudly.

Those words stung worse than all the scratches on the boy's face. Stiles' eyes shattered into mobs of tears, crying louder and louder with each passing second.

Sighing, both Melissa and Talia placed fresh kisses on Stiles' head.

“It's okay Stiles. It's okay, just remember how important you are to all of us. We'd just be lost without you,” Melissa said, gently petting Stiles' hair. “I'll go get the boys out of the den and get them dressed,” she said, walking up towards the stairs.

Talia sighed in relief as Stiles' tears slowed down. Both the boys had been put in their den, a special room Kyle had built years ago for when Derek needed to heal. Special herbs lined the room that kept noises, smells, and distractions out of the room to aid in the healing process, but allowed sounds to exit the room in case of emergencies. Otherwise, Derek and Scott would have heard their pack mate sobbing and come to the rescue, despite their illness.

In the meantime, Talia cradled Stiles in her hand, moving over to the wall phone. Picking it up, she dialed the number she'd long since learned by heart. Within seconds, the other line picked up.

“Deputy Stilinski,” he answered immediately.

Talia chuckled. “Guess who has two very tired little legs and walked four hours to my house this evening to visit his sick friends. You get three guesses, but two don't count. Bonus points if you can answer the name of a babysitter that I'm going to maul and be arrested for murdering in the most poetic way possible?” she asked sweetly, watching as Stiles grinned to himself.

John groaned. Over the phone, Talia could picture him slamming his head on his desk. Actually, she heard it as well, alongside a pointed whine and an animated sound of a fake gun going off.

“Talia, I am so-”

“John, relax. Stiles can stay with us until you get off work. Actually, just let him stay the night, I doubt it would do any good to wake him up at 2 in the morning. Just call his babysitter and let her know she's both fired, incompetent, and on the Talia Hale hate list for letting a small child get free under her care and not calling the authorities,” she said, patting Stiles on the back

Slowly, she heard John's heart rate steady over the phone. “Let me talk to him,” he said exasperatedly.

Reluctantly, Talia did hand the phone over to Stiles. The conversation didn't last long, but Talia picked up most of the gist of it.

“Sorry Daddy,” Stiles mumbled, pouting. He hung up the phone for Talia and sighed as though he'd been framed for murder.

“No Nintendo?” Talia asked.

Stiles nodded. “No Nintendo,” he said, huffing loudly.

“STILES,” Derek shouted.

Turning to the side, Talia and Stiles slowly walked to the staircase.

Derek shook as he walked down them, finding it hard to balance himself on the stairs. He'd shifted back into his human self and managed to put on a pair of his pajama bottoms. Not far behind, Scott had done much of the same.

“You're sick!” Stiles announced, scrambling out of Talia's arms.

Talia smiled, watching as the little wisp guided his friends over to the couch. Stiles plopped in the center.

Derek fell into Stiles' arms on the couch. He held his ears tightly and curled into a ball. “Don't feel good,” he grumbled.

Leaning on Stiles as a pillow, Scott occupied most of Stiles' neck. “Me neither,” he whined, holding back a strained cry.

Petting them on the heads, Stiles tried to keep a brave face.

“You wanna sleep?” Stiles asked quietly.

“Can't. Hurts,” Derek mumbled, trembling as another wave of pain shot through his system.

Scott's whine next to him seemed to agree.

Gently, Stiles put his hands on Derek's forehead.

Cool to the touch, Derek let out a sigh of relief as his fever temporarily found a break.

Doing the same for Scott, Stiles grabbed his hand.

“It's okay. I do this for Daddy too,” Stiles whispered, yawning loudly.

Watching in awe, Talia glanced at both her pups' eyes. Both sets of eyes fought at first, shifting back and forth from their human colors to their wolf colors. Eventually though, they both finally slammed shut.

Being the snorer that he was, Scott was the first one to conk out.

Still fighting as he trembled through the sensation, Derek snarled.

Talia bent down next to them, running her fingers through his hair. She smelled his urge to sleep, and the conflicting need of staying awake. An Alpha issue that she'd struggled with herself. To sleep meant to be weak, and to be weak meant that his pack wasn't protected. Her son was a true Alpha, and would be one of the greatest. To have such protective instincts at such a young age was unheard of. Most young Alphas went out of their way to be possessive and dominate, confusing their emotions. As she and Peter grew up together, infighting had been terrible.

Derek was not like that, and it was obvious why as Derek's hand moved away from his own ear and grabbed Stiles'.

Talia smiled.

“Shh... Baby, it's okay, mom's here to look after everyone. Alpha's here... It's okay,” she spoke, attempting to soothe her son. She kissed him on the forehead. “Rest. I'll keep him safe,” Talia whispered quietly enough for just Derek to hear.

After a moment or two of fighting back, Derek's facial muscles stopped twitching. Finally, his body went limp and gentle snores left his throat.

Allowing herself a moment to see her own son relax, Tali quickly glanced up to Stiles.

“Stiles? What did you do exactly? Is this sharing your feeling again?” Talia whispered quietly.

Fighting sleep himself, the lad yawned. “I gave 'em my sleepiness. I don't gotta sleep, so I just keep sleep down in my belly. They needed it, so I shared it. I can go to sleep for a little bit for 'em. They're my buds,” he mumbled, not a few seconds before he conked his head on Scott's.

A symphony of snoring.

Melissa finally came downstairs as well, hefting several large blankets.

“Melissa... Would you do me a favor tomorrow when you go into the hospital?” Talia asked, assisting Scott's mother as they draped the boys in thick blankets.

“Sure, what?” Melissa replied, taking extra care to tuck Scott in.

Talia gently laid Stiles down from his sitting position, laying him behind Derek. Instinctively, her son put his arm around Stiles, tucking him in close to him.

“Can you get me a medical textbook about Wisps?” she asked.

 

 

+

 

After a few days of no Nintendo sleepovers with two sick werewolves, the infection passed out of the boys' systems and would never again attack them. Feeling elated, the boys wasted no time on Saturday before they sprinted off into the woods.

Scott had shifted before hitting the front porch, and just ran as far as he could. Derek and Stiles had no chance of keeping up, and instead chose to run to their usual spot.

Nestled off not too far from the Hale household, was a large set of boulders of all sizes. A training ground that Kyle had used, Derek had explained. Where werewolves would focus on their half-shift, and try to break the boulders with their fists.

Derek sucked in the fresh air. “Smells good,” he whispered quietly.

Right by his side, Stiles grinned. “You gonna punch a boulder today?” he asked excitedly.

“No, dummy,” Derek said, rolling his eyes. “You gotta be an Alpha. A STRONG Alpha, like my papa was. Papa could break 'em EASY!” he said, bragging loudly.

Images of his father ran through his head. Whenever Stiles was nearby, it wasn't the sad memories. It was the good ones, like Papa breaking boulders and letting Derek “help”. Or Saturday runs in the woods. Even his first hunting trip where he got a deer.

“Your Papa was cool!” Stiles said, rushing up to one of the larger ones and kicking it with his sneaker.

The boulder did not budge.

Derek laughed. “You can't break it, you're a Wisp! Let me do it!” he shouted.

With a running start, Derek growled as he half-shifted. He slammed his fist into the rock, leaving a dainty crack in it, barely enough to constitute an “injury”.

Stiles blew a raspberry in Derek's direction. “You can't break it, you're a were!” he mocked.

Growling playfully, Derek was on all fours as he started to chase around the scattered rocks.

At least, until Stiles screamed.

Derek stopped in his tracks, grabbing Stiles by the shirt and putting him safely behind his body.

Shaking, Stiles held onto Derek.

Derek held back just as tightly.

On the ground, a mass of auburn brown fur was struggling to breath in between the rocks.

A werewolf pup in full shift, no older than Derek or Scott.

A severely bloody and beaten werewolf. Slashes were constant throughout his body. His tail had been completely severed, and he was missing an ear.

“Derek... Is... Is...” Stiles stammered out, trying not to cry as he looked away.

Having heard the scream, Scott had bounded back to them. He shifted back, pulling up his pants that he'd tethered to his legs.

“He's not pack,” Scott said, growling at the injured pup.

Derek half-shifted, extending his claws and tiny fangs. He roared loudly, as if to threaten the pup. The were was on HIS territory and had scared HIS friend.

There wasn't much of a response. Lifting its head up took a Herculean amount of strength, only to be rewarded with a set of weak gold eyes. The pup whined.

“Stop!” Stiles shouted, stepping between his friends and the injured wolf. His face was already drenched in tears. “He's hurt! You gotta get Misses McCall! She's a nurse!” he screamed.

Derek stepped forward. “Get away, he'll bite you!” he ordered at Stiles.

Stiles shook his head fervently. “No! I gotta help him!” he spat out. Moving to the pup's side, Stiles gently touched his fur, where the wolf yelped in agonizing pain.

“Go get Alpha Talia and mom,” Derek ordered. Stepping forward, Derek glared at the wolf angrily. “I'm the Alpha here. You hurt him, and I'll BREAK you,” he spat.

The pup shivered, trying to back himself into the boulder to hide from Derek.

Stiles held his hands out, holding the pup's face gently. “It's okay.. He said, touching a spot of fur that wasn't covered and matted in blood.

Derek growled. “Stiles, get away, seriously. Mom and Alpha Talia will get him. He might bite you! Wolf bites HURT,” he said angrily.

The wolf whimpered quietly.

“He says he's not gonna. He's an Omega, so he'll do what you say cuz you're an Alpha,” Stiles replied.

Derek, taken aback, shook his head. “How'd you know what he said?” he asked, genuinely perplexed. Wolves could only understand other wolves when they howled, and even then the words spoken are a generally gist of things. Complex sentences were out of the question.

Stiles pet the wolf on the head, which softened the wolf's pained expression.

“I just know. It feels like he's saying that. Maybe he's not, but I think it's what he's saying. That's what his heart says anyway,” Stiles answered.

The wolf whined again, a set of slow pining.

Stiles frowned. “He's cold and hurts. Can you do your healing thing for him? Like you did for me when I broke my arm?! He's hurting Derek!” he shouted.

“I can't...” Derek grumbled, folding his arms. “He has to be pack,” he grumbled.

“You're an Alpha! Make him pack!” Stiles said immediately.

Frowning, Derek shook his head. “Alpha Talia'a the Alpha of our pack. If I made him my pack, then I'd have to leave her pack. She said I can't do that till I'm older,” he replied, feeling a belly full of rage boil.

The pup whined loudly again, barely able to wag what was left of his tail.

Stiles already had started to cry. “Please! Please Derek, he's gonna die! I don't want him to die!” he shouted painfully. “I don't want no one else to die ever!” he said, sobbing over the pup's fur.

Groaning, Derek clutched his chest. He was compelled. As an Alpha, his role in the world was to protect. Protect his pack, protect his mate, and protect his friends. Everything in his heart hurt, watching Stiles beg.

“Fine,” Derek said, moving down to the pup's eye level. Derek's eyes bled into the color red, and he let his fangs shoot out of his mouth. Gently, he reached the pup's shoulder blade and bit into him. He removed his mouth a moment later, as blood seeped out of the open wound.

Just as Stiles seemed to glare in fear, Derek shook his head. “That's how we make an Omega into the pack. It's okay, it didn't hurt,” he explained immediately.

The pup's eyes shifted. From their dark gold into a healthy blue.

Derek growled. “You're my Beta now. You're my pack. You don't hurt my friends, and I don't hurt you. I'll take care of you now, until the day I die. Got it?” he explained dryly. A tired and true “speech” that his Uncle had taught him a long time ago.

Nodding, the pup bowed his head.

Satisfied, Derek stopped growling and put his hand on the pup's head. He scratched it momentarily. “I'm taking your pain. Be still,” he explained.

Another hand quickly occupied Derek's.

Stiles smiled as he scratched the other side of the pup's head. “I'll give him happy. I've got a lot of happy in my belly,” he said brightly.

Nodding his approval, Derek took a deep breath.

Whining at first, the pup melted under Derek and Stiles' touch. He cooed, relaxing as pain exited his body, and a warm happiness entered.

Derek and Stiles finished within a few minutes, which allowed the pup to finally stand on their own four legs.

“Better?” Derek asked, suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to bandage the pup and take him to bed to rest. His claws also shot out, raging at whatever had done such irreplaceable damage to his pack.

The pup nodded, still shaky on his feet.

Stiles smiled. “Thank you Derek,” he said, throwing his arms around his friend and hugging him tightly.

For a moment, Derek relaxed.

“DEREK!” Talia shouted.

Derek was no longer relaxed.

Stiles and Derek turned around, suddenly met with the fast pace of Talia and Scott running up to them.

“Is everyone alright? Oh my goodness, you poor-” Talia started to ask, stopping a good ten feet away from Derek.

Scott didn't bother halting, and moved right to Derek's side.

“Thanks Scott,” Derek said. As his red eyes met Scott's, the other Alpha's eyes shifted into a deep violet.

Talia's eyes flashed a deep red. Her son had just made Scott his second in command. The “Omega” that Scott had talked about had the blue eyes of a Beta. Stiles was Stiles, but her Beta-like bond she'd forged with him was gone. All of the children's bonds with her was gone, especially Derek's.

The aura around Derek was strong, and she knew he was no longer her pack. They were enemies, for if only the moment.

“Derek Hale, have you claimed this Omega as your pack?” she asked bitterly.

Stiles backed away, hiding behind Derek. He shook, feeling the secondhand rage.

“Yes,” Derek answered. He didn't bother to lie.

Talia folded her arms. “Do you realize what that means? We've had this talk before, about Scott, and I believe I made myself VERY clear. You were NOT to claim a pack member of ANY kind until you were sixteen and cleared your Alpha training. Not only have you claimed an Omega as your own, but you've changed Scott as well as Stiles. You have openly defied my order as your Alpha,” she said quietly. Her rage was worse in a calm voice.

Instinctive rage boiled over in Derek's heart.

Derek growled, bearing his teeth. “You're NOT my Alpha! Papa was my Alpha, I don't listen to you! I'm my Alpha now, and I'm helping my friends!” he screeched.

“HOW DARE YOU!” Talia barked, half-shifting and grabbing Derek by his shirt. She picked him up from the ground and and growled in his face. “I am your Alpha, and you will SUBMIT!” she ordered.

Derek's eyes didn't leave hers for a second. “No,” he answered plainly.

Before she had time to adequately slap the shit out of her own son, Talia felt a gentle tingle from her legs.

Looking down, she tried not to cry.

The pup, the heavily injured pup, was biting into Talia's flesh, shaking as he struggled to stay standing. He didn't have his wolf teeth in yet, so he was basically causing a mild discomfort.

More painfully, to her other side, Scott's arms held her leg down, disabling her ability to move.

Even Stiles had jumped up to the arm she'd grabbed Derek with, attempting to dislodge him.

“Let Derek go!” Stiles ordered, struggling to hold himself up long enough on Talia's arm.

Scott was shaking, clearly traumatized. “Talia, stop! Let him go, please!” he begged.

_Talia. Not Alpha Talia, but Talia._

The pup was on his last legs, but still managed a low growl.

All of it hurt. Her pack, gone. Stiles? Gone. Scott? Gone. Derek? Derek had never really been her pack, just like he'd said, but she'd still had a bond as mother and son. All of them were gone now. She was a stranger in their world.

“You would turn on me?” Talia whispered, directing her comment at Scott.

Scott slammed his eyes shut. “Stop hurting Derek!” he begged.

Moving to Stiles, Talia nearly cried as she saw the little Wisp try to bite at her skin, lacking the ability to even make a dent.

So caught up in her own world, she barely noticed as an adult claw struck her on the face. She flew backwards into a boulder, immediately recovering and growling.

 

+

 

After Talia got hit, Stiles found himself and Derek in a stranger's arms.

Stiles glanced at the person. He was handsome, like a prince. He had soft brown hair, shimmering blue eyes, and wore a suit and tie that was now covered in dirt and leaves.

“Uncle Peter?!” Derek asked, as both he and Stiles were both placed on the ground.

The man nodded. “Good to see you again Derek, it's been far too long,” he whispered.

“PETER. This is MY problem, get the hell away from here,” Talia shrieked.

The man didn't back down. “If memory serves correctly, I believe my brother Kyle did the same thing when he was thirteen, am I wrong? I am also wrong when I recall you being overjoyed at him breaking his family's bond and becoming his own Alpha? That you could be part of HIS pack, and not his family's pack?” Peter asked, in a calm, yet oddly dark tone.

Talia growled. “He is EIGHT. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE!” she shouted.

Shaking his head, Peter sighed. “My dear sister-in-law, I'd politely ask that you calm down for ten seconds. I will take him away to perform the Alpha training. He's young, but it must be done. Should he fail, he'll relinquish his rights to you as Alpha, as is always done,” he explained.

Talia did calm down. She took a deep breath and glared at Peter.

“How did you find us?” she asked.

Peter pointed to the injured pup standing behind him. “I'd been tracking him down. I smelt blood in the town square and heard reports of an injured pup. I happened to watch Derek claim him, on Stiles' order, I might add,” he added with a gentle smile.

Talia's eyes grew.

“Yes, Talia. On Stiles' orders. Now calm down,” Peter said gently.

Nodding, Talia took a deep breath.

Peter glared at Derek. His cold blue eyes seemed to shimmer. “Let it be known Derek, that you are now an Alpha. Not a pup Alpha, but a real pack Alpha. Scott, this pup, and Stiles are yours to protect, even at the cost of your own life. This is a grave responsibility not to be taken lightly. As your previous pack's second in command, it is my duty to insure that you are ready to take this responsibility. Come with me. I have a lot that you need to be taught and not much time to do it,” he said, turning away and walking back towards the town's main road.

Derek nodded, and stepped forward, stopping as he put his hand on Stiles' shoulder. “I'll be back. Sorry we can't play today,” he said quietly, turning towards his mother.

Talia nodded. “I'll take care of them Derek. I promise,” she said, wiping a few tears out of her eyes.

He glanced to the new pup, that had buried himself at Stiles' side. “Stiles will take care of you. Do what he and Talia says, okay?” he explained.

The pup nodded, whining loudly as his Alpha jogged away, attempting to catch up with his Uncle.

 

+

 

The drive was long, wherever they were going. Peter had bought them about a month's worth of non-perishable food and a single change of clothes before they'd left Beacon Hills. All Derek knew is that he'd be in the woods for a couple of weeks. That's all Peter had said, several hours earlier. They hadn't spoken since then, letting the music on the radio serve as their only other driving companion.

At least, until Peter shut it off suddenly.

“I'm going to explain this once. As your mother's second-in-command, it is my duty to insure that you are sufficiently strong enough to lead a pack. Over the next two weeks, we will be fighting each other in a secluded location. I will not mortally injure you or try to kill you, but I will never hold back. I'm aware of your limits, and I will be pushing them each and every day in ways that will make you suffer. When your father when through his training with your grandfather, there were days when Kyle couldn't even walk,” Peter explained.

Derek flinched. His Papa had been the strongest man ever. He worked out all the time and could break boulders. He couldn't picture his Papa hurting that much.

“Should you ask to end the training, I will end the training. However, you will no longer be Alpha, and be forced to submit to your mother until you can complete the training. That means the pup you saved might be outcast from the pack, or she'd be free to order Stiles and Scott into doing whatever she wanted. You would not be their leader. Nor would you be able to protect them,” Peter explained darkly.

“I also know, Derek, about your little friend Stiles. I know how you really feel about him,” Peter said, patting Derek on the leg.

Derek turned away. “Shut up,” he spat back, slapping his uncle's wrist away.

Peter chuckled. “Derek, I'm not a fool. Despite your mother being openly blind, I see the bond between you and that Wisp. He's not just some humanized Beta that would openly submit to you. No, he has a profound effect on you, to the point where you would betray your own Alpha, your own mother. He means the world to you, and you'd do anything for him. Am I wrong?” he asked.

After a moment, Derek shook his head. “No. Stiles is my best friend. He's smart too, so he's always right,” he answered back.

“Is that all?” Peter asked, stopping at a red light as he shifted his gaze back to Derek. “There's no other feeling besides him being your friend? What do you feel like when you're around him?” he asked.

Derek shrugged. “I dunno... Fuzzy. Like my tummy feels good when we play together, and I wanna scent him a lot more than Scott does. I don't like it when he smells like anyone else but me and the pack,” he said honestly.

Peter smirked.

“Derek, Stiles is your Alpha Mate. Or at least, that's how you perceive him as,” he answered.

“Mate!? Like... Mate mate?! Like Mom and Date mate?!”Derek asked, embarrassingly.

Peter nodded. “Yes. Your mate. The one you're going to want to spend the rest of your life with,” he said, with a playful smile.

“I... I love Stiles?” Derek asked himself, instead of answering his Uncle.

Peter sighed, banging his head against the steering wheel. “Oh dear God this new generation is a conglomeration of fools like no other, I think I might just go jump in a pool of wolfsbane instead of watching the very destruction of our planet's intelligence go on for another day. I hate everything,” he exclaimed, leaning his head up as the light finally turned green.

“Uh... I love STILES?!” Derek shouted.

Interrupting his nephew's emotional realization, Peter sighed.

“Oh, and Derek?” Peter asked.

Derek turned to his Uncle.

In a flash, Peter had the back of his head and slammed it into the passenger side console with enough force to leave a dent.

“OW!” Derek yelled.

“Don't ever backtalk your mother or disrespect her like that again. You can piss over her as an Alpha, but she's your mother. Treat her with some respect, or I'll make you,” Peter explained angrily.

 

+

 

Having finally shifted back into his human self, the pup looked about as bad of shape. His torso was littered with the same wounds, and his human left ear was completely gone. Infection was everywhere as the outlines of the wounds were a disgusting green. Nobody noticed his softly curled brown hair and gentle eyes.

Despite Melissa's insistence on getting him medical care, Talia had halted her temporarily in order to get explanations. “Wolf healing”, she said, would be enough to keep him alive for decades even with the disgusting sight.

Though the human side failed to say anything, choosing to curl up on the couch with a blanket and hide from the world.

Half an hour passed with little results, and the sounds of footsteps to the front door put everyone on edge.

Scott immediately became pack protector and growling when Deputy Stilinksi came through the front door.

“What the hell happened here?!” John asked, staring straight at the bundle of blankets.

Isaac's head retreated into the blankets like a turtle, and Talia shook her head. “I have no idea, to be honest. Everything's gone to hell in the last hour, and I don't know what to do. We've got an injured pup here that won't talk to me. Derek's his Alpha because my son is an idiot, and had to leave so he didn't tear my face open. So nobody here is going to get a story until Derek gets back in a few weeks,” she answered, clearly frustrated as her facial muscles twitched.

Stiles backed away from Talia, holding his stomach as a wave of nausea hit him from her secondhand rage.

“So you can't get a scared and beaten child to talk? I'm shocked,” John answered sarcastically, moving forward and picking up his son. He rubbed Stiles' back, letting the boy's nausea to pass with his own healthy optimism. John chuckled. “Use Stiles. He'll take away the pup's nervous energy and calm him down. I've had him do the same thing on a few cases where children are involved. Can't you Stiles?” he asked.

Stiles nodded. “Yeah,” he replied dully. He shirked away from Talia, as if frightened by her.

Huffing, Talia shook her head and turned to Stiles. She knew she'd been rude and terrifying earlier, but her inner wolf self was not about to be challenged by her own child. “Sweetie, can you help me here? I'm sorry if I scared you, that wasn't nice of me. I'm not going to hurt Derek, and nothing's going to change around here. I still love you all like you were my own children, ” she asked politely.

After a few moments of inner thought, Stiles nodded. “Okay,” he answered, as John sat him down on the floor. Stiles walked over and made himself comfortable on the couch, smack dab in the middle.

Taking all of two seconds to sniff the air, the pup clamored over to Stiles' lap. Stiles put his hand on Isaac's back, and the two hugged.

“Pack,” the pup whispered, landing his head into Stiles' neck and taking a deep breath.

Stiles giggled, clearly ticklish. “Yeah, I'm Derek's best friend! We're pack, and I guess we're best friends now too! What's your name?” he asked.

“I'm Isaac La-... I guess I'm Isaac Hale now,” he said. Isaac made himself comfortable in Stiles' neck.

Talia smiled, finally seeing the pup get somewhere. “Isaac, where did you come from? If you have family, we need to let them know where you are,” she asked

Whimpering, Isaac hugged Stiles closer, clearly frightened by the older Alpha.

Stiles rubbed Isaac's back. “It's okay, you can tell Talia,” he said warmly.

Deputy Stilinski scoffed. “Talia? What happened to Alpha Talia and your respectful tone?” he asked.

Stiles giggled. “Derek's my Alpha now!” he said, turning back to Isaac.

Stiles missed Talia's dark glare.

Isaac nodded, rather squeamishly. “My mom and dad... They got killed. So did my sisters and my brothers. We all got hunted,” he whispered.

Stiles had to clutch his heart, twinging in pain as Isaac finally recalled the terrifying memories in his mind.

“Hunted by what?” Talia asked, as her heart thumped loudly.

“Grimm,” Isaac replied darkly.

Talia's eyes went to red in an instant.

“Where were they? Where were the Grimm?! How big were they!?” she asked in quick succession.

John caught onto Talia's lack of control. She was voracious, even frightening to himself.

Isaac shivered in Stiles' arms. “Wolf Grimm. They were bigger than my Alpha...” he answered coldly, as tears ran down his face. “I... I ran... I ran cuz my Alpha ordered me to run... Then... Then... Then I didn't have to run no more. My Alpha... My Alpha died. But... But I kept running till I couldn't run no more...” he stammered. Slamming his eyes shut, Isaac sought out the comfort of Stiles. He nuzzled in Stiles' neck.

Stiles hugged him tightly, which seemed to ease Isaac's fears.

“Where was your house?” Talia asked seriously.

Shaking uncontrollably as he pictured the remains of his home, Isaac lifted his head up slowly. “Washington,” he answered.

“Oh my God,” John said, covering his mouth in horror. “You ran all the way to California from the state of Washington?! Do you know how far that is?!” he asked rhetorically to Isaac.

Melissa shook her head, moving over and attempting to sit next to Isaac and Stiles. Talia stopped her as Isaac curled into a ball on Stiles' lap.

“Not now Melissa, he needs pack, and unfortunately, we're no longer pack to Stiles,” Talia spat out annoyingly. Shaking her head, she turned to John. “If this is Grimm involved, his whole family was wiped out. You can try to do an investigation and call, but it wouldn't matter at this point. Isaac has been claimed by Derek, so he's pack now. Laws will be on his and Derek's side, so long as he has a capable guardian. I'm more than happy to take him in. That's my duty as Derek's Alpha, even if I'm not his real Alpha anymore,” Talia explained.

John nodded. “Very well then. I'll call to get his personal items and-”

“That won't be necessary,” Talia answered, not even letting John finish. “Anything in his home would smell of Grimm and blood, and there's no getting that smell out. Get his school transcripts, medical records and birth records. Anything else he needs, I will provide for,” she answered.

“Got it. Come with me to the station so we can explain all this to the Sheriff. He's getting up in years and doesn't listen too well,” he said, signaling for Talia to follow after him.

Talia and John exited the front door, and walked off the property and towards John's squad car.

John rubbed the back of his neck. “So care to tell me where Derek is, what the hell a “Grimm” is, and why my son thinks Derek is his new Alpha?” he asked.

Twitching from the hurt, Talia shook her head. “It's a very long story I'd rather not get into now. As for what a Grimm is? Well, it's the monster that our spouses fought and died to stop all those years ago,” she answered curtly.

 

+

 

Two weeks had come and gone. Stiles and Jackson stayed with the Hales, waiting for the day Derek came back. Thankfully, the school was more than amicable.

Melissa tended to Isaac's wounds, and the pup finally recovered fully after a few days. Even his severed ear grew back in a painful twist of flesh and bone.

After recovering, Isaac found his place in the pack of friends almost immediately. While he couldn't play rough, the pup was more than happy to stay at Stiles' side constantly. Isaac was more than happy to help Stiles to help bankrupt Jackson in Monopoly, even at the cost of his own properties.

Scott, as second in command, took over the role of Alpha for a temporary basis. Not that he did much, but he kept Jackson from strangling Isaac over monopoly, and made sure the new pup knew all the “rules” about Derek's pack. Which basically meant that hurting Stiles was not okay under any circumstance.

On the Sunday of the second week, each of the pups were hanging out on the front porch, waiting for Derek's return. Peter had called from a station, letting them know of their return.

Stiles kicked his legs back and forth on the edge, watching the road carefully. Isaac was right behind him, sitting cross-legged and acting as the boy's protector.

Jackson and Scott were kicking a soccer ball around in the front yard, still watching the road as well.

Stiles groaned.

Isaac plopped his head on Stiles' shoulder. “It's okay. He'll be back soon,” he said.

“Thanks Isaac,” Stiles replied, leaning back on Isaac's head. “I miss my best friend,” he moaned.

Isaac's ears flickered. “Car coming,” he said immediately.

Scott had heard the same thing, picking up the ball as Jackson shot it at his head. “Derek's home!” he shouted, beaming from ear to ear.

Isaac and Stiles leapt off the porch, running up to the driveway with Jackson and Scott.

Sure enough, Peter Hale's black and red Camaro rushed down the private Hale road.

“DEREK'S HERE! DEREK'S HERE!” Stiles shouted eagerly.

Peter parked the car not too far away from the house, next to the rest of the family’s vehicles.

Stiles stopped smiling as the doors opened. Scott, Isaac and Jackson fell behind Stiles, and Scott dropped the ball he'd been holding.

“Derek?” Stiles asked, as his face dropped.

Shirtless and in a pair of ratty jeans covered in blood, Derek had been beaten within an inch of his life. Every ounce of Derek's upper torso had been clawed, bitten and bruised. His face had swelled and maintained a deep purple coloring. His left arm swung lifelessly beside him, either broken or severely fractured. Barely standing, Derek staggered to even walk.

Peter wasn't far behind him, smiling as though nothing were wrong. A single scratch on his left eye had already scarred.

“Alpha Derek!” Stiles shouted, running to his friend.

Isaac, Jackson and Scott ran behind Stiles, all helping to support their Alpha from falling down.

Derek let his friends assist him, as they escorted him back inside the Hale home.

The five met Talia at the front door, stopping under her powerful gaze.

Slowly, Derek flashed his red eyes to his former Alpha.

“We'll talk later Derek. In the meantime, please go rest. You look like hell,” Talia muttered, stepping aside as the kids helped Derek inside the building.

Finally reaching the porch, Peter folded his arms s he met Talia's side.

“How did he do?” Talia whispered.

Peter chuckled. “Remarkably. Kyle failed his Alpha training three times before he succeeded. Derek did it in one, at age 8. I'm sure that's a record. The little fucker even got a hit in on me,” he replied, signaling to the scar on his eye. “I'm not letting that heal. Derek should be proud that he bested me if only for a moment. You have a strong son that I'm very proud of,” he said, in an jovial tone.

Sighing, Talia shook her head.

“Peter. This isn't a joke. Being an Alpha, a TRUE Alpha by the training is a very serious thing. You expect me to believe that he succeeded your expectations, brother? How do I know this isn't mercy?” Talia asked.

Peter's chilly blue eyes failed to leave Talia's for a moment. “Because that boy just spent the last two weeks taking every ounce of rage and power that I could throw at him, with less than 5 hours of sleep a day. I knocked every ounce of breath out of him that I could, even more than I did with his father, and every single time it happened, he got right back up. He cried, Talia. I made my nephew cry and sob, but he never ONCE gave up. He's never going to forget how I nearly destroyed him. I would never lie for his sake of mercy. Derek earned this,” he bellowed.

No uptick in his heart rate. There were no lies in Peter's tone. Talia felt her breath hitch.

“How?!” she asked, in a haze of awe.

Peter smirked. “Very simple, actually. I told him that if he stopped fighting for a single second of our training, that he'd never be allowed to see his pack again. He'd be a failed Alpha and forced to leave his home and live with me in seclusion. I told him that he would never be permitted to see Stiles so long as he lived. A lie, of course, but perfect motivation for a child who can't tell the difference,” he cackled.

Blinking, Talia felt her stomach churn.

“You tricked my son into being strong enough to survive Alpha training? By making him... Oh my God, Peter, I both respect and loathe you in ways I never thought possible” Talia asked, rubbing her forehead angrily.

“A lot of people feel the same way about me. Oh, and for the record, during our training session, I cam to learn that your son has quite a vocabulary of swear words. I'd look into that if I were you,” Peter chuckled warmly.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

Year 3 : Third Grade

 

Cultural Heritage Day. An annual after-school festival held by the third graders of Beacon Hills elementary school. While the middle school and high school built booths and sold food and had games and prizes, the third graders were responsible for putting on a “show and tell” to the audience. Each student was required to give a short speech.

Which was a nightmare for one particularly grumpy werewolf, stuck just outside the third grade bathrooms in the elementary halls.

“Talia. I'll give you Scott if you let me go home,” Derek whispered.

Beaming, Talia thought for a moment. She then shook her head. “No.. No, I prefer you like this,” she giggled

Frowning, Derek glared down at his outfit.

Derek was dressed in fur-lined leather pants and vest, leaving his chest open for the hot California sun. A beaded turquoise necklace was dangling around his neck, and fur wrist cuffs dangled with ruby red gems. His hair had been fixed by his mother, braided in the back in a short ponytail after a few weeks of letting it grow out.

“Ah... Your grandfather would have been so proud to see you wearing the Hale vest. I believe his mother made it. Or was it his sister? I forget,” Talia said, rubbing out a wrinkle on Derek's arm.

Derek groaned, trying to remember most of his speech. Most North American werewolf packs within the US originated from the earliest peoples that lived there. Most notably, the Native American peoples. The Hales were no exception, with their bloodline going as far back as any other tribe in the US. Though after years of breeding with other heritages and countless other tribes through arranged marriages for power and prestige of the pack, they eventually settled on the name “Hale”. His father had been adamant about his family's culture, with an extensive family tree that he'd tried to memorize.

“You look VERY handsome,” Talia assured him.

“I look like a dweeb,” Derek shot back, silently wishing for someone to throw him off a bridge.

Talia sighed. “Your father wore this, you know. That was the very first thing that made me attracted to him. Maybe you'll find yourself a nice girl too,” she offered.

“MOM,” Derek said, in a mixture of a whine and embarrassment.

Shaking her head, Talia huffed. “It's never too early to think about finding a mate, Derek. I know you get grossed out when we talk about this, but our pack needs pups if we're going to survive. We mate for life, and with your father gone, I can't do that anymore. I suppose Scott and Isaac could help too, but we're all counting on you to bring home a nice girl so we can be a great big family! The Alpha sets the example for the pack, you know!” she said brightly.

Cringing under his mother's touch as she kissed him on the face, Derek's posture fell into a slouch.

“You look fine, Derek. Just thank the Lord I didn't dress you like Mommy Melissa dressed Scott,” Talia said, as she patted him on the back.

Derek rolled his eyes. “Okay, fine, you did better than Mommy Melissa,” he begrudgingly admitted.

Smug in her superior mothering, Talia chuckled quietly.

“All done?” Talia asked, glancing back at the boy's bathroom.

“Yes Talia!” Isaac responded.

Shortly after, Isaac emerged from the boy's bathroom, fully dressed in his own costume.

Derek groaned.

Isaac had been a lucky one. His particular cultural history, after his mother researched his biological family, originated from the wilds of Canada that migrated south for relatively warmer winters. Instead of the embarrassing skin-exposing leathers, he could wear fur parkas and thick denim pants. A little hot, given March's warmer weather, but much more bearable in the comfort level.

“Ah! So Handsome!” Talia said, hugging Isaac closely and kissing him on the head.

“DEREK!” Stiles shouted.

Resisting the urge to break his neck to turn around fast enough, Derek smiled as he watched Stiles rush up to them from the parking lot.

“My, how handsome!” Talia remarked.

Stiles was dressed in a full green robe that smelled of ivy. Symbols, glyphs, and ancient scripts designs covered the cloth in black, red, and white. One giant symbol was plastered on his back, that looked like a mixture between a flame and a heart, engulfed in gold.

Stiles' hair hadn't been cut in several months, and long beads and flowers had been woven into his much thicker hair. Curved wooden ivy lined the open sleeves around his wrist, and lightly glowed in the sun in different shades of color.  He was barefoot, and Derek could smell the fragrance of nature all over him.

“Aw, and here I was hoping to learn more about Poland. This is adorable too though,” Talia said, picking Stiles up and hugging him tightly.

Derek growled at the sight of another Alpha touching HIS Stiles.

“Hush you, he's like my son. I can squeeze him if I want!” Talia shot back, squeezing Stiles tighter to make a point.

“I know how old you are,” Derek spat.

Stiles was soon returned to the ground, and Talia turned to the newly-elected town Sheriff, who had finally caught up with them.

“So what’s all these words mean?” Isaac asked immediately, enamored by Stiles’ long sleeves that dwarfed his tiny arms.

Stiles shrugged and turned to his father.

John shrugged.

“To be honest, I don't know much about Wisps, except for what my wife told me. Thankfully for Stiles, he's VERY interested in his heritage, or he’d be REALLY lost. Had to take him to the library at least twice a week, or he wouldn't stop kicking the back of my car’s seat.   He's SO much better with Adderal, even if he hates it,”he explained.

Stiles’ face went flat, and Derek flinched. Adderall had been a very sensitive subject in the past year. After nearly flunking the second grade, Stiles had been taken to a doctor who had diagnosed him with ADHD. Stiles' dad said it basically meant that Stiles couldn't concentrate very well, and had a need to MOVE constantly from one task to another, and lacking any ability to focus. Which Derek knew was true, just from watching him in the classroom.

Still, Stiles hated the way it tasted and felt in his blood, and would fight anyone when it came time to take it. Eventually, his father had finally gone the forceful route, after catching his son hiding the medication in their front lawn bushes. Derek saw their early morning fights when he slept over, where John had to literally hold his son down and force the medication into him.

The father/son relationship had soured, and Derek could smell the rage on Stiles' body.

Derek knew John was right though. Even if Stiles did smell a little weird from the medicine, Stiles was happier with it. He got good grades, could actually sit and listen to class, and began reading again. All things which were impossible before.

“I'm NOT sick dad. I don't want to take that stuff!” Stiles whined.

“Is that new?” Talia said, picking up on the need for a QUICK change of subject, and touching Stiles' outfit.

John, thankful for the reprise, shook his head.

“This is his mother's hand-sewn robe that belonged to her grandfather when he was a young wisp. It's made from ivy-infused silk and soaked in water from the Dark Forest of Canada. It's supposed to help Wisps use their natural born gifts more easily, and what my wife wore of a similar variety whenever she tried to heal the emotionally broken. It's Stiles' inheritance now,” he answered, ruffling Stiles’ hair.

“GET IN.  COME ON,” Melissa yelled.

Derek groaned, looking away from the dreadful sight.  Melissa, as strong as she was, managed to always have trouble making Scott do what he wanted.

“GET IN NOW, OR I’LL MAKE YOU SPEND A WEEK WITH YOUR FATHER!” Melissa screeched.  

Derek groaned again.  Parents were being assholes today.  It was bad enough that Scott’s father had moved back into town and been accepted into the FBI.  What was worse is that he wanted Scott to “reconcile” their differences and start spending weekends together.  An act that Scott adamantly refused.

Finally led inside the door after being threatened menacingly, Scott frowned angrily, with his arms crossed. Then again, wearing a green checkerboard kilt, a funny black beret, leather pouch, and matching dress shirt would piss off anyone off.

Scotts face went even more hysterical, as he saw Derek’s leathers, Isaac’s furs, and Stiles’ robe.

“MOM. Why do THEY get to wear cool stuff and I get the skirt?!  Not even the GIRLS wear skirts!” Scott whined loudly.

“It's a KILT Scott, a KILT! You're Irish on my side, and I have no idea where your father's side came from. It was this or nothing!” Melissa exclaimed, rubbing her forehead irritatingly.  A painful week of arguing had finally come to unfold.

Groaning, Scott fell to the floor, huffing angrily.

Talia nudged Derek in the back.  “Your second is miserable.  Support him,” she whispered, barely enough so that Stiles could hear it.  

Derek rolled his eyes.  Ever since becoming his pack’s Alpha, Talia had been giving him “pointers”.  Not that she wasn’t right, but it still annoyed him to have his mother still telling him what to do.

Giving up the fight, Derek stood over Scott and bore him right in the eye.. “You look... Fine,” he explained quietly.

“Really?” Scott asked, not at all feeling supported.

Derek nodded.  “At least you're not wearing a dress like Stiles,”

“ROBE,” Stiles was quick to remind them both, play-punching both Derek and Scott in the arms.

“Jackson, try not to look so…  Dark,” Mr. Whittemore mumbled.

The trio turned to the entrance of the school, where the Whittemore family, for once, had all come out to a public event.  Mr. Whittemore looked tired, with dark bags under his eyes and a faked smile.  Mrs. Whittemore was death warmed over, shaking under her husband and keeping a LONG distance away from Jackson, who was the worst of the three.

Jackson had come to school in something straight out of the Revolutionary War. A red coat that had black buttons and a fancy coat of arms plastered on the side.  Fancy black pants and a stuffed shirt made the look complete.

Moving past the rest of them as though they weren’t there, Jackson’s parents didn’t even notice Jackson stop to glare at his friends’ snickering.

“If any of you say anything, I swear to God that I will go full demon and curse every one of you,” he said, with a playful smirk.

A joke.  

A funny joke that made Jackson, his friends, and most of the adults laugh.

Except for Mrs. Whittemore.  She stopped dead in her tracks and shook violently.

Derek and Stiles were the first to notice, ending their laughter as they sput to Jackson’s mother.  The smell for Derek was like a rotten corpse, while Stiles clutched his heart as the second hand waves of madness ran through his veins.

“...I… I can’t do this…” Mrs. Whittemore said, breaking contact with her husband and storming off to the side.  Jackson’s father raced after her, while the rest of their circle of friends watched on in awe.

“Mom?  Mom?!” Jackson yelled, dashing after her.  

Derek and Stiles were not far behind, stopping at one of the dead ends that led to the first grade hallway.  Mr. Whittemore was between his convulsing and thrashing wife, keeping her away from Jackson.

“Jackson, GO!  Go back to Sheriff Stilinski and stay there!” David yelled, struggling to keep MRs. Whittemore at bay.  

Immobile, Jackson’s pale face listened to the hysterical ramblings of his mother.  Derek could smell the hurt, and held Stiles’ hand to comfort his wisp.

“I can't keep LYING TO MYSELF! YOU KILLED MY REAL SON! YOU KILLED HIM!  YOU’RE A MONSTER!  A MONSTER!  YOU’RE NOT MY JACKSON!  YOU KILLED MY JACKSON, GIVE ME MY REAL JACKSON BACK YOU ABOMINATION!” MRs. Whittemore screamed, sobbing grossly as she finally broke free from her husband.

Derek saw it in slow motion, and felt his heart thudding loudly.

Jackson was in his mother’s arms, with her hands around his neck, slamming him into the wall.  She tried with everything she could to break his neck, with only Jackson’s hands in the way of stopping her.

“mo..mom…” Jackson grumbled, as his entire body started to give in.

“DEREK SAVE HIM!” Stiles shouted.

A new kind of instinct took over.  He didn’t feel it happen, spurred forward by Stiles’ words..

 Derek half-shifted and threw his fist into Mrs. Whittemore's stomach. She dropped Jackson in an instant, where he crumpled to the floor as she grasped at her newly broken ribs.  The rest of the pack had finally showed up, having seem MRs. Whittemore’s attempt to murder her own son.

Stiles and Scott drug Jackson away as he panted for breath, bringing them to Talia’s side.  

Melissa and Isaac pulled Derek away, as he half-shifted Alpha continued to growl and menace towards Mrs. Whittemore, claws out and ready to rip her open.

John grabbed Jackson from Talia’s side, holding him close to his chest.  He took a moment to calm the Alpha female, who had half-shifted along with Derek, and looked just as angry.  Satisfied that he wouldn’t be party to a murder, John rubbed Jackson’s back and shot a dark glare at the Whittemores.  

“I think it's time you left.  For good,” John said coldly.  

Collecting his wife’s bruised and battered self, David tried not to pay attention to her insane ramblings.  especially the part about him needing to “man up” and “take care of the problem”.

“John, I'm sorry.. We've tried, but… My wife can’t handle this anymore.  I warned you about this,” David said, as they walked past Derek and Talia, both growling at the Whittemores as they passed.

John nodded.  “I know.  I'll pick up his things tonight. You'll sign the paperwork?” he asked.

“Naturally. Thank you again,” David said, as they turned the corner to the main hallway and where they’d be out of Jackson’s life forever.

A solid five minutes of awkward silence later, Talia and Derek reverted to their human selves, while Melissa finally caved and stole Jackson out of John’s arms.

“Sweetie…  Sweetie, I am so sorry,” she whispered, kissing his forehead as if to make all the bad dreams go away forever.

Jackson just shrugged. “It's okay. She didn’t have a knife this time,”

His voice was dull, as though his mother's attempted murder of him was like being told to take out the garbage. A daily chore. A run-of-the-mill thing to be checked of his list of things to have done daily.

Stiles backed away, hiding behind his father.  The group tried to ignore him as he dry heaved from the emotional torture he’d just been drug into.  

“This time?” Talia growled, as her hands shifted into full-blown claws.

Jackson nodded.  “Mom said I killed their baby.  She doesn’t want me, she wants the “real” Jackson.  She…  She doesn’t want a demon,” he said, grabbing the Whittemore crest of arms and ripping it off his vest.  He plopped his head against Melissa’s head.  His eyes were vacant

John shook his head, stepping forward.  “You'll be living with us from now on Jackson.  I’ve been talking to your father about this for a long time, and I’d rather you be with us than any demon commune for underage children. I don’t think your folks will stay here much longer. We'll convert the guest room in a few weeks and-”

“I want to stay with Stiles,” Jackson shot back, as his face and body perked up for the first time in a LONG time.  He was shaking, excited, and had tears gathering in his eyes.  “I…  I get to…  I get to stay with Stiles?!” he shouted again.

Recovering from his bout of sickness, Stiles composed himself and glanced up at his father.  “Really?!  Jackson’s staying with us?!  Like, is he gonna be my brother?!” he asked, in a fit of wild excitement.

The mood of the hallway changed instantly.  

At least, until Scott cleared his throat.  

“Is…  Is Alpha okay?” Scott asked nervously.  

Everyone turned back to Derek, and John groaned to himself.  Not asking the “pack leader” had been a huge insult.  Most Alphas would have gutted John by this point for even thinking of moving Jackson anywhere but to be with his Alpha.

Though Derek ignored their nervous looks and moved towards John.  Jackson scrambled out of Melissa’s arms and back down on the ground next to Derek.

The Alpha grabbed Jackson's hand and yanked him closer. He inspected the bruises on Jackson's neck, which were already forming a dark purple.

“Are you okay? Do you need anything? I'll run you to the hospital if you need me to,” Derek said in quick succession, surveying his Beta's body.

“Yes.  Derek, can I-” Jackson began to ask stopping as Derek sniffed Jackson’s arm more closely.  Derek ripped open the sleeve, revealing several series of welts and bruises that danced on his skin.

Melissa and John looked away.

“You’re not okay,” Derek said angrily.

Jackson shrugged.  “Mom... Mom had bad days…  It’s not a big deal,” he answered back.

“How is this NOT a big deal?!” Derek shouted, touching Jackson’s many injuries.  He was already halfway plotting how to bury Jackson’s parents in their backyard.

“Cuz I took his sadness,” Stiles answered for them.

Derek glanced to his friend.

Stiles looked away. “He... He can't feel sad about his parents no more, cuz I took his sadness. Remember when I got real cold and sick a long time ago?  So…  He can’t get sad about them,” he whispered.

Jackson nodded. “It's true. Mom would hit me and I'd want to cry, but then nothing came.  It wasn’t a big deal.  I’m a demon, I’ll heal next time I feed,” he grumbled.

“Why didn't you TELL us?!” Derek demanded to know, not letting go of Jackson’s hand for a minute.

Shrugging, Jackson sighed. “Cuz I was born, and cuz my real parents did kill my mom and dad's baby. It's my fault, like mom says,” he grumbled.

Derek growled.  

“It is NOT your fault,” Derek said forcibly.  He shook Jackson’s hand.  “This is NOT your fault!  Don’t ever say it is, got it!?  Anyone hits you like this again, and I’ll gut them.  You TELL me if that happens again, got it?!  DON’T SUFFER AND NOT TELL YOUR ALPHA AGAIN, IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?” he shouted.

Jackson nodded.  “Yes Alpha,” he replied.  A small smiled curved in his lips.  Not a large one by any means, but a smile of relief.  

Still growling, Derek glared at Sheriff Stilinski.  “I’m staying the night tonight.  So is Isaac and Scott.  No bedtime.  Jackson sleeps with Stiles in his room until he’s better, got it?” he demanded of the elected official.

Taken aback, Talia smiled proudly at her son.

“Very well,” John said, smiling at Derek’s “big scary demands”.  

Unhappy in all different degrees, Derek shredded Jackson’s red vest.  “Come on.  You’re not wearing that ugly thing.  You’re my pack, you wear our clothes too,” he spat, grabbing Isaac and Scott on the way back into the boys bathroom.

 

+

  
  


Cultural heritage day finally came to an end.  Not that any of the Stilinski-Hale pups had even gone to give their speeches on-stage.  Talia had crafted a very talented white lie about stage fright, and gotten them all out of it.  Minimal growling and Alpha shifting was required.

Not that Jackson could really explain on-stage why he was wearing Scott’s spare button up shirt, Isaac’s coat, Derek’s wristbands or Stiles’ jeans, but the pack knew and that was really all that mattered.

Though the family enjoyed the festivities together, as Melissa and John retrieved most of Jackson’s belongings and had already moved them into John’s house.

Scott ate everything in sight at every food booth, until Stiles had to sit with him in the nurse’s station from a stomach ache.

Isaac spend the day attached to Talia’s hip, and allowed her to mother him ceaselessly.  They played games until they dropped, and Talia even bought “her son” (as she kept calling Isaac that morning) a huge stuffed wolf to call his own.  

Derek didn’t leave Jackson’s side for a moment.  A few of the older kids had dared to ask why two boys were holding hands, and went as far as to make fun of JAckson.  Those same kids would soon find out that pissing off an overprotective Alpha was the fastest way to lose their lunches and have their $50 T-shirts shredded.

Eventually though, the crowds and public nature of their town got to everyone, leaving John to have everything head out to their favorite Chinese restaurant around the time that the “culture presentations” would be happening.  Because as Derek so kindly put, “nobody wants to hear it right now”.

Their dinner was calm over idle chatter and gossip.  The family laughed, poked fun at Scott’s ability to put away more food than a black hole, and nobody bothered to question when Stiles switched places with Derek, and took Jackson’s hand.  They all knew Stiles was taking the pain away from Jackson, as the boy’s head fell lower and lower throughout the dinner.  

Eventually though, they couldn’t ignore it anymore as Jackson raised his hand politely.

“Thank you…  Thank you da-...  I mean, thank you Mr. Stilinski,” Jackson said, clutching Stiles’ hand tightly.

John put on the best fake smile he could.  “Son, you can call me dad if you want.  Or Pops, or whatever.  We’re going to be together for a long time now,” he said, nodding happily in Jackson’s direction.

“Okay…  Thanks then…  Da-...  Da-..  Thanks dad,” Jackson finally spat out, trying not to let his embarrassment flow.

“How long had your mother been doing that to you?” Talia asked, putting her plate away.

Jackson frowned.  “My first dad said that mom got real sick on my last birthday.  She cried and cried all week, and had to go to a hospital to get better.  When she came back, she didn’t love me anymore…” he whispered quietly.

The room went very somber.  

“can..  Can we not talk about it?” Jackson asked, going back to his food and pushing rice around absentmindedly.

“Of course,” Talia answered immediately.  “This really is good food!  None of that chemical stuff or MSG!” she said, spearing a piece of cooked broccoli and popping it in her mouth.

Isaac dipped hard into his chow mein. “You know... I never ate like this at home. Well, my first home.  I’m glad we do stuff like this,” he said, adding to the conversation.

The conversation, however, died again as all eyes focused on Isaac.

Isaac NEVER talked about his first home. Even if Stiles were at his side pumping him with happy vibes, he clammed up. His therapist had explained to Talia that everyone needed to be patient. He'd just lost one family and mentally believes that he's going to lose another one. To trust meant to be open enough to have a heart broken again.

Isaac shook his head.

“Dad was a real alpha. He hunted for us with my Beta uncles and brought back live meat. My mom, me and my cousin Floyd cooked 'em. My brothers and sisters were older, so they cleaned the den and repaired stuff on the cabin, set traps and gathered wood and veggies. I had to skin the meat, which was kind of gross, but my dad taught me how to do it it, so it was fun doing stuff with him.  We never ate out, but family cooking was real fun too over the fireplace outside the cabin.  I always fought with sissy over the leg meat,” Isaac said, laughing at a fond memory.

Jackson took his hand away from Stiles and kicked the little wisp over to the other side of the table.  Stiles swapped seats with Scott, and clutched Isaac’s hand.  Like most people in their family, they didn’t bother fighting when Stiles held their hands to take away the emotional pain.  It was just how he was.

“My brother brought home tacos one night, after he made a long trip to the city to buy some medicine for my sick uncle. Nobody really liked 'em, cuz they were cold and tasted like oil, but I thought they tasted good,” Isaac said, cramming his mouth full of noodles as he started to feel hiccups in his body.  

“How big was your family?” Melissa asked curiously.

Isaac took a deep breath after swallowing.  

“I had 9 brothers and sisters. 12 cousins. Our pack was BIG, and my daddy was the Alpha!  We were gonna make another cabin, cuz my mom was pregnant with pups again.  I was gonna have more brothers and sisters,” Isaac said, crushing Stiles’ hand as he said it.

“Do you miss them?” Scott asked, feeling a nudge to his side from a very irritated Derek.

Isaac ignored it, and nodded.  “Yeah... I miss my sister Lisa most. We shared bunk-beds in our room with my big brothers Ethan and Aiden, and read stories together past bedtime. We played tag a lot and she stopped my big brother Sam when he wanted to tease me,” he said, as his eyes hit the floor.

“Mom used to take me outside and we'd have picnics,” Stiles said, breaking the awful silence between them all.

John turned to his son, as a pained thud echoed in his heart.

“Dad had to work, so he always showed up late. But we'd eat from a picnic basket and watch the birds outside. It was really fun, and she’d show me how to use magic!  I couldn't cuz I was too little, but…  Mom could make kitties and puppies come to her and let her pet them!” Stiles recalled fondly, kicking his legs back and forth.

John tried to say something, but the words failed to form.

“Dad... Dad taught me how to hunt,” Scott grumbled.

Melissa shot her head up, clearly stunned by the news.

Scott chuckled.  “Sorry mom, he told me not to tell, but I was still real little, but we went to the woods and we found a squirrel. We worked like a pack, and he cornered it so I could dive and make the kill,” he said, taking a deep breath as he instinctively folded his arms.  “He said he was proud of me. That I'd be a great Alpha one day, and be a great man,” he said, glancing away from his mother’s sad gaze.

Derek sighed.

“My dad showed me how to swim. He said all pups KNEW how to swim, but just had to be shown once.  I was scared,” he admitted, feeling Talia’s hand on his shoulder.  Derek shrugged her off him.  “He picked me up and threw me in the middle of the pond and I thought I was gonna drown.  Then he yelled and promised he’d come swim with me if I stopped screaming and tried to learn, cuz he knew I could do it.  Dad…  Dad kept his promise. He swam out to me and stayed by my side the whole time. I learned to swim in ten minutes. We played all day in the pond, and it was fun,” he said, taking a deep breath and picturing his father.  That pond day hadn’t been more than a week before he’d died.

With the group’s children stuck in a fog of painful memories, nobody really had an appetite anymore.

“We just all have a lot of crap thrown on us, don't we?” John mumbled, wiping a tear out of his face.

Talia sighed.  “You children have been through more sadness than a person needs to go through.  I’m truly sorry we had to meet under these circumstances,” she said, rubbing Isaac and Derek’s backs as she stood up to meet her sons.  

Melissa had half-hugged Scott, while John stood up to go hug Stiles.

A hug that Stiles stopped.

“It's okay to be sad, ya know?”

All eyes went smack dab on Stiles.

“Cuz... If we're sad, it means we were really happy before. If we didn't get sad, we'd never know we were happy before,” he said, smiling.  “Mom used to tell me that. I'd get sad whenever Daddy had to go to work, but Mommy always said that it’s cuz I loved Daddy so much.  If we’re sad, then…  It means we’re happy too!” Stiles said, taking a deep breath and fiddling with his fingers.  “Plus…  If mommy didn’t die, and…  If Derek’s daddy didn’t die, and…  If all the sad stuff didn’t happen, then..  then we wouldn’t be a family,” he said, melting into the back of his seat.  “Then…  Then I wouldn’t have you guys…” he whispered.

Derek’s head fell.  

“I wouldn’t have you” he thought to himself.  He hadn’t even realized it, but Stiles was right.

Why did that make Derek nearly want to vomit up his beef and broccoli?  Why did the thought of not meeting Stiles make him want to rip into the table and throw it out the window, howling at the moon?  

Derek sat in his seething rage, not noticing he was drawing blood as his claws extended into his newly made fist.

 

+

  
  


Derek had curled up on Stiles’ bed. Scott and Stiles were playing video games downstairs with Jackson and Isaac after they left the Chinese restaraunt, but he'd gone straight to bed.  

 

_“You'll find yourself a nice girl!”_

_“Your father found me when we were in the fourth grade! We courted until we were both 16, and got married at 18!”_

_“Don't be like your Uncle Peter. THIRTY and still not mated. I swear something's wrong with that man's brain.”_

_With Jackson over the moon about being a Stilinski now, he didn’t have to worry about his pack for a few minutes.  Everyone was downstairs and happy for once.  With the exception of himself, whose tummy had started hurting a few hours earlier, right after hearing Stiles say “I wouldn’t have met you”.  Something about those words sent shocks down his spine, and kept forcing him into half-shift during bits of rage._

_“You need to be thinking about the pack, Derek.”_

_“Packs need pups!”_

Shutting his eyes, Derek hugged his pillow tightly.  

Since he became the Alpha, his mom kept trying to make him think about getting a girlfriend or maybe even doing wolf catillon.  Wolves mated for life, and he needed to be like the rest of the werewolves in school.  There was an Alpha in fourth grade who already had their mate, and a sixth grade Alpha who was already engaged to his sweetheart.  Neither would be doing anything until they were 16 and of legal age for werewolves, but they were already making their packs proud.  

Apparently, that was normal.

Though Derek’s thoughts kept going back to his Uncle Peter and their Alpha training.  He wasn’t like Talia, and had a different idea of mating.

 

_“Your mate is someone that you’ll protect, even at the cost of your own life”_

_“When you’re around them, you’ll be at peace.”_

_“Your mate will bond with you, and feel the same tug that you do, werewolf or not.  They’ll never wish to harm you or break your heart.”_

_“They know your heart about as well as you know it yourself.”_

_“You, your wolf, and your heart knows Derek.  That’s all there is to it.”_

 

“You're sad,” Stiles mumbled.

Derek jumped, letting go of his pillow hug and turning around.  Stiles was dressed in his PJs and hugging a pillow himself.  

“We’re going to bed downstairs under the blanket for, so I came to get you.  But…  You’re sad?  I felt it, like…  All the way downstairs, it was weird,” Stiles asked.

Derek didn’t bother to speak.  Just having Stiles in the room made his head shut up for more than ten seconds.  No more of Talia or Uncle Peter swimming in his head.

“Want me to take the hurt away?  We can sleep in my bed tonight, if you want.  Jackson’s already snoring, so I think he’s okay tonight,” Stiles asked, smiling in Derek's direction.

There was zero hesitation as Derek nodded his head. “Stay with me tonight,” he asked, feeling his heart thump repeatedly against his chest.

Stiles smiled, and went inside the room with zero hesitation.  He climbed into bed with Derek, and threw them both under the quilted covers.

Derek hugged Stiles from behind, bringing him close to his body.  He felt the warmth radiate off Stiles, and knew his friend was sending him comforting emotions.

Everything felt RIGHT.  

“Why are you sad?” Stiles asked quietly.

Derek shook his head.  “Secret,” he grumbled pack.

Stiles nodded.  “Okay,” he answered, settling in.  

They’d done this countless times.  Heck, Stiles did it with anyone that needed a good night’s sleep.  Even Melissa and Talia had asked him on occasion to sleep with them to keep the nightmares and fears away.  Stiles was everyone’s teddy bear, security blanket, and friend all wrapped into one.

Yet, Derek couldn’t sleep.

All he wanted was to make Stiles CLOSER.  He never wanted to let go of this feeling.  Nothing else mattered when they were together, his head was quiet, and his wolf was pleased.  

The night was over before he knew it.  

Derek hadn’t slept at all, instead choosing to watch Stiles.  Watch his chest lift and lower as he breathed, and enjoy the warmth of wisp magic as it tingled over his skin.  

He never wanted to let go.  Ever.

Slowly, Derek’s mind moved instinctively and he pecked a tiny kiss on the back of Stiles’ head.  His lips were warm, and he knew.

“Mate.  I…  I love you, mate,” Derek whimpered, burying Stiles’ neck and smiling.  

“Derek?” Jackson asked quietly.

Brought back to the real world, Derek let go of Stiles and turned to his packmate, suddenly very frightened by the prospect.  

He had a mate.  A MALE mate.  A non-breeding male mate of a different species.  

_“You need to find yourself a nice girl!”_

_“Pack needs pups!”_

His mother would hate him, that’s all there was to it.  

Jackson was still sleepy, in a half-daze.  The peace of the night ended, as Derek’s mind began a low grade whine and buzz about everything in the world.  Stiles was his mate, and he couldn’t deny it anymore.  His Uncle Peter had been right.

“Yeah?” Derek asked, not realizing how tired he actually was.  He tried to control the worry in his voice.

“Can I sleep with Stiles too?  I…  I can’t sleep.  I keep dreaming of mom from…  Yesterday,” Jackson asked.

Without needing to think on it, Derek nodded.  

Before he knew it, Derek felt Jackson climb over him and settle in right next to Stiles.  Derek himself put his arms around Jackson, taking whatever physical pain that he could away from Jackson’s neck and throat.  The three adjusted themselves on the bed, and Derek heard Jackson snoring quietly within just a few minutes.  

With another body between them, Derek didn’t feel the same connection from Stiles.  His peace ended, and his brain slowly drifted off into a deep sleep.

 

+

  
  



	5. Chapter 5

Year 5

+++++

Lunchtime for fifth graders would always be a particularly difficult time.  No longer were they eating with the younger elementary school kids, instead sharing the middle school cafeteria.  Though they still were taught in the elementary building, and thus the subject of cruel teasings by sixth and seventh graders.  

With, naturally, one glaring exception.  

“Derek!  Quit scaring the seventh graders!  Your eyebrows are EVIL,” Stiles exclaimed, punching Derek in the side of his arm.

Growling, Derek went back to his food.  A very rare steak that he’d brought from home.  A rare steak that he ripped his fangs into, shredding it in a bloody mess while glaring at the same seventh graders.

“Do I smell pee?” Isaac asked, sniffing the air.

“GUYS, Seriously!  I thought you were going to help me!” Scott shouted, whining painfully.  

Jackson rolled his eyes, flipping a page in his teen magazine.  Unlike the rest of the hungry kids, the incubus instead had leaned into Stiles’ lap and made a pillow out of it.

“If you're going to spend the next hour crying over ALLISON, I’m gonna throw up.  Just ask her out to the dance, or shut up,” Jackson replied bitterly.  

Scott stuck his tongue out at Jackson and kicked him underneath the table.  “Shut up Jackson!  You cried for a week after Lydia said she didn’t want you as a boyfriend anymore,” he exclaimed.

Jackson attempted to raise up to punch at Scott, held down by Stiles’s hand.

“Scott, no mentioning the L word.  Jackson, you’re grumpy because you haven’t eaten enough of my immortal soul.  No fighting!” he announced.

“Fine,” Scott and Jackson said in unison.

Derek smirked.  He dare not say it, but Stiles had long since been a mini-alpha for the pack, and could make anyone follow his orders.  His mom called it “whipped”, whatever that meant.  

“Okay then, pack meeting,” Derek announced.  He glared at the near vampire kids, who immediately backed off and gave Derek’s pack some space.

Isaac frowned.  “Derek, you keep scaring off all our potential friends!  Put those eyebrows away!” he said, waving politely to a tanned vamp kid.  

“Quit flirting with Danny and pay attention!” Derek exclaimed.

Sadly, Isaac did as he was told, turning back to the pack’s meeting.  

“So why are we having a pack meeting?  Because Scotty doesn’t have any balls?” Jackson snorted, re-adjusting his head on Stiles’ lap.  

Scott growled.  “You want to talk about balls?  Let’s talk about your tiny little pe-”

“Scott!” Stiles shouted.  

Derek slapped the back of Scott’s head as hard as he could.

“Shut up, both of you.  I’m talking about the dance, yes.  Scott in particular wants to go with Allison Argent, and Talia wants to make sure that all of us have a date," he admitted calmly.

"Talia is not our Alpha.  She can't tell us what to do!" Isaac offered immediately.  

Derek shook his head.  "No, but she is our parent and has threatened our Nintendo," he grumbled.

Jackson rolled his eyes.  "Why does your mom even care?  It's just a stupid dance," he countered.  

"It's a wolf thing.  None of us have mates yet, and its driving her totally insane.  She said that when she was our age, her and dad had already performed the mate bite and made everything official.  She's worried because we're all boys and supposed to care more," he explained.

Scott and Isaac exchanged knowing looks.  Quickly turning to Alison , Scott's features went soft as he pictured the two of them at the movies, eating popcorn.  At the same time, Isaac pictured Danny sucking his blood and being made full.

"So that's what Talia said.  At the least, she wants Scott, Isaac and myself to get at least once dance.  Now about Scott's problem with Allison," he said, pausing as he turned his direction to Scott.  "I'm ordering none of you to help him,” he said quietly."

Scott's eyes bugged out.  "What?!" He yelled, clearly desperate.  

Derek shook his head.  "You’ve been pining over her for three months now.  I’m nearly positive she’s your mate, and mates are important.  More important than anything else in the world.  Show her a little respect and tell her how you feel.  Don’t make your brothers do it, or I’ll kick you in the nuts,” he spat back, flashing red eyes at his pack.  

Scott growled.  “I don’t even know if she IS my mate!  You can’t do that!” he yelled right back.

“ I could find out!” Stiles offered, pulling Scott by the ear as he lunged towards Derek.  

All eyes turned to Stiles, rather skeptically.

“Oh God.  Not the fucking book,” Jackson said, sighing as he grabbed Stiles by the mouth and shut it.  “He’s been practicing stuff in his mom’s Wisp book.  He’s not good at it yet, run while you still can,” he answered calmly, letting go of Stiles’ mouth.

“Shut up!  I only froze your foot ONCE.  It thawed out after a couple of hours in the tub!” Stiles said, smacking the backend of Jackson’s head.  Smiling, Stiles turned to scott.  “So I can’t use REAL magic yet, but I can look at your heart and see if I can find your soulmate!” he offered excitedly.  

“Seriously?!” Isaac exploded.

“Don’t do it, you’ll just end up with frozen foot,” Jackson said, getting smacked in the head again.

Rolling his eyes, Stiles held his hand out.  “Come on, let me have your hand.  I’ll stare in your soul and see who your eternal mate is!” he announced.

“Dude, totally!” Scott said, throwing his hands out.  

Stiles grabbed him, and shut his eyes tightly.  He took a deep breath, concentrating.  “May the string of fate guide my way…” he whispered.

Squealing, Scott shook as gentle sparks shot through his body.  Then, he stopped all together, freezing in place.  His eyes went amber brown, quickly returning to their gentle violet.

After a few moments, Stiles opened his eyes and grinned widely.  

“Did you see?!   Did you see?!” Stiles shouted excitedly.

Scott nodded his head.  “Yeah!  YEAH!  I saw her!  I SAW HER!” he shouted.

“Saw who?” Derek asked, glancing curiously at Stiles and Scott.

Scrambling out of the table, Scott bolted away from the pack and towards the farmost table.  He didn’t bother to tell anyone anything, but did steal Jackson’s pudding pack in the process.

Stiles giggled, watching his friend disappear behind a mass of people.

“His soulmate is Allison, I saw it in his heart!  It was her and him as old people!” he explained, jumping up and down excitedly.

“Still eating here,” Jackson said, elbowing Stiles to make him stop jumping.

Derek hitched his breath.  “So you can..  You can see soulmates?!” he exclaimed.

Stiles nodded.

“Yeah.  Well, I can for people I love anyway right now.  I can’t do it to strangers ‘till I’m like dad’s age…  But dad says by the time I’m thirteen, I can start doing more fun stuff like mom did!  That’s why he gave me her book to practice!” he said holding his hands out to Derek.

“Want me to see who your soulmate is?  If they’re close by, you can meet your mate!” he said brightly.

Derek shirked away from Stiles’ hands.  

“No..  No…  I…  I don’t want to know…” he said, folding his arms and keeping them far away from Stiles.

Shrugging, Stiles turned to Isaac.  “Do you wanna know?” he asked excitedly.

Derek tried not to watch as Isaac’s face went as bright as Scott’s had.  Ultimately, it was too painful.

“Hey guys!” Scott shouted.

While Isaac and Stiles did their thing, Derek turned back to his brother.  Blushing wildly, Scott was nervously shaky as he held a girl’s hand.  

Obviously Allison Argent, her winning smile said volumes.

“Hey uh…  Allison, this is uh..  My brother Derek, and he’s my Alpha.  Derek, this is uh…  Well, she’s uh…  She’s my mate!” he stuttered.

Allison held her hand out politely.  “Hi Derek.  My dad said you’re a Hale, right?” she asked.

Nodding, Derek shook her hand firmly.  

She smiled.  “My Dad’s gonna be SO excited that Scott sees me as his mate!  The Hales and the Argents have worked together for YEARS exterminating demons!  Your dad was really nice, and my mom talks about him all the time!” Allison exclaimed.  

Jackson fumbled with his magazine, nearly ripping the page in half.

Derek tried to ignore the rapid heartbeat in Jackson’s chest, or the smell of horrific fear pouring out of his body.

“Nice to meet you.  So…  Did Scott tell you about…  You know, the whole “mate” thing?” Derek asked.

Taking a seat with Scott across the way from Jackson and Stiles, Allison nodded.  “Yeah.  Werewolves mate forever.  My dad told me stories about how romantic it was,” she explained.  Her face was overjoyed, just as excited as Scott was.

Scott clutched Allison’s hand tightly.  “Yeah, I mean…  I feel all fuzzy and weird.  Like my heart’s going to explode, but it’d be a good explosion!  One where I wouldn’t die and there wouldn't be any blood!” he rambled, blushing as Allison squeezed right back.

“Aww…  You’re so funny!  But wolfies are always funny when they get their mate!” Allison said, leaning over and pecking a small kiss on Scott’s cheek.

A kiss, which in turn, caused Scott to pass out, fall out of his seat and then crack his head against the hard linoleum floor.

“You break him, you buy him,” Jackson spat, shooting Allison a dark glare.

 

++++

 

Derek tried not to vomit over the ungodly amount of cheer in his household.  Apparently, finding a mate was the single greatest thing on the planet worthy of impromptu parties, family dinner, and moms sobbing.

Sitting through a five course meal with the Argent family and learning about Allison’s parents, aunt Kate, and grandfather had been unbearable.  While Allison’s father was proud of his daughter finding a wolf-mate, he wasn’t half as obsessed as the rest of them.

Allison’s mother went on for an hour about how proud she was for Allison to finally be involved in a non-human heritage.  Their Aunt Kate's rant about blood bonding and strengthening their exorcist powers was a little more than creepy.

Derek really didn’t understand half of their weirdness.  Having a mate shouldn’t be about family prestige or getting stronger.  The way his mom and Allison's parents talked about it made it feel cheap.  Peter's explanation of mates was a lot more simple, and felt right.

“Can I be excused for a moment?” Derek asked, putting on his polite pants for fear of their Nintendo.

Talia nodded.  “Of course,” she said, signaling her approval.

Slumping against the bathroom door after jetting away from the table, Derek huffed.  He didn’t realy need to use the bathroom.  Everything just smelt WRONG in the other room.  Or rather it was wrong how right it was.  

Scott was over the moon, and never let go of his mate for a second.  Allison was just as happy, rubbing her hands and face over Scott to help with scenting for the moment when they’d need to eventually part ways.  She was a smart girl, and knew exactly what Scott needed.  Probably even more than Scott did.

Shivering, Derek brought his knees up to his chin.

“That’s what I should be having.  I should have Stiles in there, holding his hand and snuggling with him.  Letting Stiles rub over me, so I don’t smell like anyone else but him.  I want Talia to be happy like that, and Mommy McCall telling me how proud she is.  I want to tell Stiles I love him,” Derek thought to himself, letting loose a small growl under his breath.

He’d known Stiles was his mate for over a year now.  Still, he hadn’t told a soul, except for his Uncle Peter who’d known before he had.  

Derek knew that having a male mate wasn’t ordinary.  None of the other wolves in the school had same-sex mates, and he wasn’t even sure it was a permanent thing.  Maybe Stiles wasn’t his mate?  Maybe he was sick?  

Research had been terrible.  He went to the National Were Database and looked up news articles about having a male wolf with a male mate.  Three news articles later, and Derek had to shut the computer off.  Same-sex mates were apparently a “sickness” in the werewolf community, and an unnatural abomination of deviant demonwork.  At least, that’s what the news said.  

Derek thought of Jackson, and the fact that he’d been around a sex demon for the better part of his life.  Had Jackson poisoned him?  Maybe he’d gotten mad at Derek and screwed with his mind.  He didn’t think it was possible, but what other explanation could it have been?

Then there was the pamphlets that a guest speaker brought to his Werewolf Studies class.  Derek had read it backwards and forwards since he got it.  It was all about the right kind of mating, and how to bring pride to the race.  An entire article in the back pages had been about how male werewolves should ONLY breed female werewolves or female humans.  Anything else was sexual deviancy, which the speaker had said was “bad”.  

Everything he knew said it was weird.  Having a male mate was a bad thing, and that’s all there was to it.

Still, seeing how happy Scott and Allison were, made Derek wonder if he should care.  Uncle Peter had always said a mate was a mate, and the most important thing in the world.  He’d even called Derek on several instances to ask about him and Stiles.  Peter always seemed disappointed when Derek said “fine”.

Taking a deep breath, Derek slammed his eyes shut and pictured Stiles.  The way he laughed, the way he was excited about everything they learned in school, and how passionate he was about being a strong Wisp.  

Derek felt his heart flutter and smiled.  Even after all the time that had passed, his heart still got ridiculously happy just thinking about his mate.

“I’ll.  I’ll tell Talia,” Derek said, as if to make a promise to himself.  His mother would know the answer.  Even if she wasn't his Alpha anymore, she was still his mother to some degree.  

Forcing himself to his feet, Derek ran over and fake-flushed the toilet, knowing that his mother would have heard if he didn’t.  He washed his hands quickly and made his way back to the door.

Swinging it open, he was met with the tall blonde figure of Kate Argent, Allison’s aunt.  Having just entered college, she was 8 years older than Derek, if not more.  

Derek felt his heart crumple as the scent of an overwhelming perfume wafted into his nose.  

“My, you were in there a long time, weren’t you?  Not doing anything naughty, I hope,” Kate said with a playful smirk.

Derek shook his head and attempted to pass her, stopped as she put her clammy hand on his shoulder.

“Derek, Derek, Derek…  I’ve got to say that Allison had rotten luck that the pack Beta snagged her.  Even as your second, Scott is WAY too low on the food chain to really be that good of a catch.  But you?  An Alpha?  Now that is a mate worth being proud over,” Kate said, bending down and gently massaging Derek’s shoulders.  

Shrugging her off, Derek growled at her.  “Scott’s a good mate to have.  He’s my brother,” he said, flashing his red eyes angrily.

“I know.  Even without the blood, he’s still a Hale.  My sister will know a great deal of love, money, and may even take the bite at some point.  She’s growing up into a powerful exorcist, you know.  Having werewolf blood would just make her all the more powerful.  Assuming, of course, that you’d give her the bite?” Kate asked, tracing her fake fingernails up and down Derek’s neck.

“I can’t bite yet.  I don’t even care about that, Talia can give the bite too,” Derek spat, still growling low in his chest.  

“But you will.  You will be able to give a bite, just as soon as you’re all grown up and in a big bad body.  I saw pictures of your father, and DAMN, I bet you’re going to be just as strong and handsome,” Kate said, giggling to herself.

“What do you want?  I want to get back and eat,” Derek said, swatting her hand away.

Kate leaned down and kissed Derek on the cheek.  It felt icy cold and slimy, like a demon had licked him.  

“All I’m saying is that maybe when  you’re legal, it might not be a bad idea to…  See each other?  After all, I’m a lot of woman, and you’re a Hale.  Considering our family histories, we could do something remarkable to stamp out the demons that plague our country.  Exorcist blood and werewolf blood?  Our children could be unstoppable.  Give me the bite, and I’ll give you something I know ALL boys are going to want,” she said, licking her lips.

Derek scoffed.  “No thanks,” he said, pushing past Kate with ease.  She was human, and he had to be careful not to break her ribs in the process.  

Kate chuckled.  “Wait until your hormones flair up.  Give me a call sometime, Alpha-boy,” she said, ruffling his hair as she strode by.

“I’m going to need three showers to get your skanky smell out of my hair now, thanks pervert,” Derek spat.

While she didn’t stop, Derek could smell the rage bubbling in her chest.  Which, in turn, let Derek have a smug smile for a couple of minutes.

 

++++

 

Dinner was mostly uneventful after Kate’s weird flirting.  Everyone had a glass of wine, even the kids, and toasted to a momentous occasion.  

Scott and Allison hugged on the sofa while the two families chatted, and Derek found himself stuck next to Kate, who kept playing with his hair.  In retaliation, Derek wondered aloud about “old desperate skanks” and “wolf diggers” when the topic got around to human/wolf relationships.  The slap on the head he got from his mother was well worth it.

Thankfully, the night came to an end as the clock struck nine.  Allison and Scott had to part, but a gentle kiss on the lips between them seemed to soften the blow.  Even as a human, Allison’s bond had started to grow, and she’d soon feel the same separation anxiety that Scott would feel.  

As the door shut, and after Melissa cried over her “big baby wolf boy growing up so fast”, Talia took her turn to pick up her newly-mated son.

Talia kissed Scott on the cheek.  “Congratulations.  We’ll have a talk later about what you’re going to be going through.  It will be VERY uncomfortable, but it has to be done.  Head on upstairs with your mom, she’ll start it off,” she explained.

Groaning embarrassingly, Scott and his mother walked up the stairs, where Derek could hear the tail end of Melissa threatening Scott’s life if he ever did anything with his “no no” place.

Rolling his eyes, Derek moved towards the living room to setup the Nintendo for a weekend night of fighting over who had to be player four.  Stiles was coming over with Jackson after the argents left, considering they didn’t want Jackson melted into a pile of ash if he lost his control for even a second.  

“Derek, can you stay a minute?” Talia asked kindly.

He stopped at the foyer.  The inflection of Talia’s words were not good.  That was the “bad news” voice.  That was the “let’s talk about your dad and how he died” voice.  

This was not good.

“I’m worried about you.  I know you’re an Alpha, but I’m…  I’m really getting worried,” Talia said, as her footsteps got louder and louder.  “I’m worried that you haven’t found a mate yet,” she whispered.

Derek groaned.  “Talia, please don’t,” he said aloud.  Recalling his earlier promise to himself, he figured now was as good a time as any.

His mother shook her head.  “No, Derek, I’m serious.  You’re in the fifth grade and will be in the sixth grade before you know it.  Werewolves have found their mates late in life, and some don’t even find them till they’re in high school!   But Sweetie, you’re an Alpha.  Your instincts are stronger than a Beta or Omega’s.  You should have been drawn to someone by now.  I was shocked you made it past the first grade, to be honest!  But now your second has found his mate before you, and it’s…  Concerning,” she explained.

Slowly, Derek turned around and faced his mother in the eyes.  “Talia…  I’ve already-”

“All I’m saying is that…  Well, maybe we need to get you into a doctor.  They can tell a lot more thanks to modern technology than they used to.  There’s a scan that can see if you’re brain has found a mate!  Or if it’s…  Broken,” Talia whispered.

Derek stilled his tongue.  

_“Broken?  I’m..  I’m broken?!  I’m …”_

His heart beat once, and only once before he felt blood rush to every part of his body.  Boiling blood.  Angry blood.  

_“I am not broken.  I am…  NOT BROKEN”_

Looking down at his hands, he saw the bones cracking around his fingertips.  His infant claws made of weak protein fell off, as bone-hard adult claws grew in their place.  

Talia’s own heart raced.

“Derek…  Derek, are you in there?” she asked carefully.

“NO!  I’m not going to the doctor, there’s NOTHING wrong with me!” Derek howled, half-shifting and slamming his fist into their television set.  It shattered into pieces as it flew into the wall and crumpled.  Using his new claws, Derek sliced open the family’s china cabinet, leaving a painful squeal to echo through the house.

Derek’s heart was pounding, rage boiling in his deep red eyes.  

Talia backed off, holding her hands up.  “Derek, sweetie, I need you to calm down…  If you’re still in there sweetie, you’re going through your…  Your feral shift.  I need you to please calm down and let Mommy-”

“SHUT UP!” Derek roared, breaking every glass in the house.

From the upper staircase, Melissa and Scott had raced out to watch Derek’s transformation.

“Stay back!  Scott, get your mother into the den NOW,” Talia barked, putting her body between Derek and the staircase.

Not waiting for a future invitation, Scott scooped up his mother and raced to the den.  the lock audibly clicked into place.

Satisfied that her friends were safe, Talia held her hands out.  “Derek…  Derek, talk to me sweetie…  Please-”

Another loud growl left Derek’s throat, exposing his teeth to his mother.

Fangs grew out, cracking under his gums as his baby wolf teeth were forced out and onto the floor, clinking.  In their place, full canines erupted, sharp and bleeding from the painful eruption.  Longer than they’d been before, the new teeth were made of a mixture of bone and special blood, capable of ripping through anything except solid diamond..

“I’M NOT GOING.  I’LL KILL YOU IF YOU SAY THERE’S ANYTHING WRONG WITH ME EVER AGAIN!  I’LL RIP OUT YOUR NECK AND FEED IT TO MY PACK!” Derek shouted.

_“Why are you saying that?!  That’s Talia!” Derek thought to himself._

“I’LL MAKE YOU BLEED UNTIL THERE’S NOTHING LEFT!  I’M NOT BROKEN, BUT I’LL MAKE SURE YOU’RE BROKEN!  DO YOU HEAR ME, YOU PIECE OF SHIT?!” Derek screeched.  He roared again, shaking the very foundation of the house.  His bare feet shifted during his rant, ripping his socks open.  Just like his fingernails, every claw on his toes fell off and were replaced with adult bone claws.

Talia was backing away from her son, and towards the front door.  “Derek…  You’re not broken…  I just need you to..  DEREK STOP!” she screamed as Derek’s body charged at her.  It was more of a blur than anything else, pinning Talia to the wall and leaving a crater in its place.  His claws and teeth were bared, hovering over Talia’s neck.  

“DEREK STOP!” Stiles shouted.

Everything froze.  

Talia tried to hold onto Derek’s hands, overpowered and thrown across the room and into another wall.

Roaring at his friend, Derek began clamboring towards Stiles.

“DEREK NO!  STOP!” Talia begged, running towards here son again, only to be met with a hand that grabbed her face.  Like a rag doll, Talia’s entire body was slammed into the wooden floor, with a loud crack that broke through the floor.

Stiles stood his ground, fists clenched.  “Derek, stop.  That’s your MOM.  STOP IT!  PLEASE!” he begged.

Turning back to his friend, Derek growled, exposing his fangs to Stiles.  

Distracted for just a moment, Derek missed as Jackson ran from the back of the house with Sheriff Stilinski, dragging a woozy Talia away from Derek.

“What in blue blazes is going on here?!” John shouted, helping Talia to her feet.

Focused on Mr. Stilinski, Jackson and Talia, Derek moved forward.

 

_“Kill them.  They think you’re broken!”_

_“No…  That’s my mom!”_

_“KILL THEM!”_

_“I..  I can’t”_

_“KILL THEM, THEN YOU CAN BE WITH YOUR MATE!  WE’LL KILL ANYONE THAT GETS IN THE WAY!”_

 

Derek wasn’t sure who he was arguing with.  Whatever it was, it was giving him a pounding headache.  

A headache which vanished as Stiles threw his arms around Derek and looked him straight in the eye.  

Stiles sighed in relief, watching Derek slump to the floor in a daze.  His shift had ended, and his claws retracted.  Fighting Stiles’ enforced emotions of “sleep”, Derek continued to growl and snap on his knees, struggling to keep his eyes open in the process.

Talia fell down and collected her son, holding him tightly against her chest.  “Sweetie, I’m sorry..  I’m, I’m so sorry!  I didn’t mean it!  I just..  I was just worried about you!  Mommy would never make you go if you didn’t want me to.  Stay with me sweetie, okay?  Stay with me!” she repeated.

Everything felt woozy.

In his state, Derek could barely keep his eyes open.  “Mom…  Mom, I don’t…  I don’t feel right,” he said, letting his body go limp in Talia’s arms.  

Talia ignored the stab in her heart at being called “mom” and kept rubbing her son’s back.  “Sweetie, Mommy triggered your feral side by accident.  You grew up a little more quickly than the other boys do, but now it’s all over.  You’re going to be dizzy for a while, but everything’s going to be okay…  You’re such a good Alpha, you kept control so well!” she said, easing them towards the nearby couch and laying Derek out on it.  Stiles joined his side immediately, but keeping a safe distance.  

“Derek…  Derek that was really scary…  You…  You weren’t you!” Stiles said, clutching his chest tightly.    

Talia nodded, trying to gently pin Derek to the couch, where the boy began writhing again.  

“Stiles, I need you to make Derek go to sleep.  He’s going to need it while he changes.  Can you do that for me?” she begged.

Nodding, Stiles stepped forward, but froze as he saw a flash of fangs and red eyes.  Derek’s clawed hands grabbed Stiles’, and held them tightly.  Muscles in Derek’s neck were spasming, allowing only a short whine to escape his lungs.  

“Derek…  Derek can you…  Can you calm down a bit?” Stiles begged, using the hand contact to allow sleep to flow from his own stomach and into Derek’s.  

Nodding as his eyes started to flutter, Derek eased his grip on stiles.  Another long set of whines escaped his throats, as his claws quietly ran up and down Stiles’ wrist.  Despite their sharpness, not a single scratch was laid on Stiles.

Eventually, Derek’s eyes and body gave out, falling into a deep sleep.

 

+

 

Melissa and John had helped clean up the mess.  Derek had essentially destroyed their living room and everything in it.  The Hale family china had survived decades before they met Derek.  

The awkward silence was painful, until John’s cough brought everyone to attention.

“I’ll just say it.  Is Derek going to rip my son’s throat out?” John asked, cramming the television’s broken set into a garbage can.

Talia immediately shook her had.  “After tonight, he’ll have complete control again,” she sighed, turning to John and Melissa’s worried glances.  “It’s called a Feral Flip.  Usually werewolves go through puberty over a five year period, starting at 12 and ending at 16.  Instead, something I said really hit with Derek’s wolf side.  He went through a rush of werewolf hormones in 15 minutes what wolves spend five years preparing for.  His grandfather went through a feral flip as well, and nearly destroyed their town’s hospital in the process.  I’m amazed he was as controlled as he was,” she admitted, throwing the collection of floor boards into the same trash can John had been using.

“Damn.  What did’ you say that set him off?” John asked, shaking his head.

“I have no idea.  All I know is that it was strong enough that it made his body instinctively want to shift into something stronger.  In order to…  To kill me,” Talia admitted, bowing her head as she glanced away.

 

.  

++++

 

Three weeks passed.  Derek’s feral shift had altered him in ways that earned him several odd looks from his classmates when he finally went back to school after a week’s absence.  

He’d shot up, growing a solid two feet over a three day period of sleep.  Towering over his classmates, he had muscle tone that children should never have, and eyes that stayed a fierce red all the time now.  

Everyone had been scared of him, except for his pack.

Instead of fearing him, his pack respected him.  After Talia explained to them what had happened, pretty much nothing changed in their relationships.

Well, except for Stiles and Derek.  Having seen Derek at his worst, Stiles had been very skiddish to be touched by him.  A short-lasting skittishness, Stiles taught himself how to expel fear and anxiety from his mother’s book, and was back to normal in no time.

All the while Derek underwent his change, the rest of the school obsessed over the winter dance coming up.  

Scott and Allison, naturally, would be going together.  Isaac had snagged Danny Mahalini, and despite their not being soulmates, were already calling each other “boyfriend”.  

Jackson decided not to attend.  Considering the Argents had all volunteered to chaperone the dance to keep any and all demons out from the mass of energy-filled children, he and John had plans at the movies that night to make up for it.  

Talia didn’t press the issue of finding a mate with Derek, and said nothing as he admitted he’d be going dateless.  Though he felt her irritation when even Stiles had managed to get a date.

Which brought Derek into his sulking corner on the night of the dance.  

Sipping punch, he had at watch as HIS mate danced with Lydia Martin.  The red-headed “princess” of their grade level, who dressed like she could both murder anyone in her sights, or be the first female president.  Either/or.  

Growling as he sipped a can of cola, Derek tried not to pay too much attention to how much fun Stiles was having.  

“Dude.  Can you BELIEVE Lydia went with Stiles?” one of his classmates said offhandedly at the refreshments table.  

Derek’s ears perked up, and he listened in to the conversation from clear across the room.

“I hear she and Stiles have been getting close lately.  Did you know they’re on the student council together?  They’d been caught kissing under a desk!  At least, that’s what Shelia said.”

“Shelia said the loch ness monster was in her bathtub.  You can’t believe a word she says!”

“Whatever.  I bet Lydia just lost a bet or something.  Stiles is like a huge dork.”

“SHH.  Don’t say that!  HIs Alpha’s Derek fucking Hale!  Have you SEEN him lately?  He like went full HULK!”

Derek crushed the can in his hand, silencing both of his classmates.

“Aww…  Did puppy dog make himself wet?” KAte asked.

Turning to his side, Derek spotted a very inappropriately dressed Kate Argent.  Her skin-tight dress barely covered her hips.

Kate walked right up to him, leaning against the same wall he was.  “I heard about your macho-shift.  Very impressive.  You’re all grown up now.  Have any…  Urges lately?” she asked playfully.

“Homicidal ones very recently,” Derek spat.  Immediately, he growled as the words left his mouth.  His throat had changed, giving him a deeper voice than he was used to.  He sounded like his father, which threw him for a loop.

Kate smirked.  “Aw…  Still don’t like me, huh?  What a shame,” she remarked, leaning off the wall and walking away from Derek.  “Don’t protest too much.  People will think you’re one of those faggots,” she muttered quietly under her breath.

Derek felt his claws come unhinged and mentally pictured throwing the hag into the punch bowl.  

His rage, thankfully, was subsided when Stiles came to his side, breathing in and out heartily.  Next to him was Lydia, just as exhausted.

“You’re not allowed to dance that fast!  I can’t keep up, I’m in HEELS!” Lydia said, chuckling loudly.

Stiles rolled his eyes.  “Hey, you’re the one that told me to SELL the whole fake boyfriend thing so everyone would stop hitting on you,” he whispered, giggling.

Derek’s ears picked up on that.  Fake.  Boyfriend.

Lydia huffed, holding her hand out to Derek.  “Hey, we’ve never really hung out before.  I’m Lydia Martin, and I’m in student council with Stiles,” she said.

Derek cocked his eyebrows  “Ok...ay?” he offered, shaking her hand.  It was odd.  True, they never hung out before, but he KNEW the Martins pretty easily.

“Isn’t it customary to introduce oneself to an Alpha this way?” Lydia asked nodding in Stiles’ direction.  “I mean…  I’m hanging out with your pack,” she offered.

Derek shook his head.  “I’m not that kind of Alpha.  Unless you were a dick,” he mused quietly.

“Good!  In that case, hold this until I get back and don’t lose it.  Stiles, I’m getting us a drink,” Lydia said, grabbing an expensive looking clip out of her hair and thrusting it into Derek’s hands.  Letting her hair down, she flipped it backwards and shook it out.  “Back in a bit.  Don’t move,” she ordered.

Her heels clopped off, as Derek shot an annoying look at Stiles.  

“Hey!  She’s a friend!  I don’t hang out much outside the pack, and I like her.  I mean, I don’t “like her like her”, but she’s pretty cool,” Stiles offered.

Derek sighed.  “Stiles, if you want to date her, nobody will care.  Jackson will be pissed off, but he’ll forgive you,” he explained, pushing the hair clip in Stiles’ hand.

Snorting, Stiles shook his head.  “Nah.  She’s not my soulmate.  Still waiting on my to get their act in gear,” he answered.

Derek froze.

“You…  You know who your soulmate is?” he asked quietly.

Stiles shrugged.  “I dunno.  I looked in my heart like it did Isaac and Scott, but all I could see were big red eyes.  They didn’t have a face,” he sighed.  Derek could feel the disappointment radiating off Stiles.  “Like..  When I read hearts, usually I can see the other soul lodged in there, and can either feel who they are or see their faces, but…  I read in mom’s book that sometimes the heart is confused and I can’t always see them,.” he explained.

“Confused?  Like what kind of confused?” Derek asked immediately.

Stiles shrugged again, fiddling with Lydia’s hair clip.  “It’s different for everyone.  But if I had to guess, it’s probably that my soulmate isn’t ready for me yet.  The eyes said it all.  They were angry eyes, but not at me.  They were angry at their master.  For not listening to his heart," he explained, instinctively leaning into Derek’s side where he laid his head.  "I think werewolves, vampires, and demons are the only creatures who have red eyes.  So all I know is that my soulmate is a guy and one of those three creatures.  Not much to go off,” he said grimly.

Derek shut his eyes.  Guilt had radiated out of his chest and all over his body.  “Stiles…  I wouldn’t wait if I were you.  Soulmate, schmolmate.  You’re an awesome guy who deserves the best in the world.  Don’t settle for some stupid eyes you see in your heart,” he offered.

“That wouldn’t be fair to my mate,” Stiles answered.

Derek’s eyes shot open again.  He glanced at Stiles, who had a sharp grin on his face.  

“My soulmate isn’t just about making me happy, Derek.  It’s about making them happy too.  A relationship isn’t a one way street.  It’s not about making yourself happy, but is all about making BOTH people happy.  At least, that’s what my dad says.  Sounds fair though,” he answered.

The lights above the school’s auditorium shifted into a pale red, and the tacky disco ball slowed down to shimmer over the dance floor.  A slow song echoed out of the speakers, as partners began dancing back and forth quietly.  Derek could spot Scott and Allison in the far corner.  They barely had an inch between them, with each other’s heads laying on their partner’s neck.  Allison’s father were watching them like a hawk.

“Come on!” Stiles shouted, giggling mischievously.

Stiles had pulled Derek’s arm, dropping Lydia’s hair clip on the nearby table and dragging them both to the edge of the dancefloor.

“Stiles…  I…  I don’t…” Derek stammered, blushing as he realized what his friend was doing.

Isaac and Danny snickered as they got closer, watching Derek’s body flush red.

“What are you doing?!” Derek whispered, as Stiles moved right in front of him.

Stiles’ hand fitted on Derek’s hip, and the Alpha shut up almost immediately.  

“Come on, your mom said EVERYONE had to have one dance, right?  Well, here’s your one dance!” Stiles said, smirking.

There were some snickering around them at Stiles’ “joke”, or at Derek’s inability to find himself a date.  He couldn’t hear them, but felt no ill intent behind them.  All he could hear was Stiles' breathing, his heart, and the warmth between their fingertips.

The simple swaying back and forth shot flames through Derek's body.  Pockets of heat gathered under his skin, and the irresistible scent of warm vanilla wafted in his nose.  

His mate smelled incredible,like he'd been shoved face first into a tub of ice cream.  

For those three and a half glorious minutes of an overplayed Christina Aguilera song, Derek felt normal.  


	6. Chapter 6

The local diner, “Hillshire”, was the local favorite for the police force and a majority of the hospital staff.  Constantly busy with the incoming and outgoing staff going through the town, it had been voted the "Best Diner" in the county for ten years running.  The smell of cooking pancakes and eggs wafted through the town as the door opened and closed.

Talia, Melissa, and John had gathered together after the kids had been dropped off at the junior high, stuck in the corner of the diner and away from prying eyes.

Melissa poured everyone a fresh cup of coffee as conversation of their worklife steadily came to an end.  “We should do this more often.  It’s nice to have conversations that aren’t about my patients,” she said, sighing happily.

John nodded.  “Same here.  The only other intelligent conversation I get is with my son, and I don’t have any idea why I should care about a PlayStation.  I thought Nintendos were the popular thing?” he asked.

Rolling her eyes, Talia plopped several sugarcubes into her coffee.  “So John…  Why did you ask us here again?” she asked politely.  

Slowly, John drank his black coffee, glancing away.  “How are the boys doing?  With all the double shifts, I haven’t hardly seem them,” he said quietly.

Talia sighed, noting how John had almost immediately changed the subject.  “I have two growing sons going through puberty that are highly territorial and masterbate furiously all hours of the night.  As a mother with super smelling abilities, I’m constantly doing laundry and questioning how they remain virile,” Talia remarked.

John spat out his soda over the table, laughing wildly.

“Oh, and Derek’s fine.  Mateless, but still fine,” Talia said, groaning in the process.

Melissa slapped the back of Talia’s head.  “Quit being so hard on him!  Derek is just thirteen.  If he were human, you wouldn’t even think of him being single!” she exclaimed.

“Did you actually just slap a werewolf?” Talia asked.

Pointing angrily at Talia, Melissa growled as best she could with human lungs.  “Enough with picking on my Derek!  Besides, John was the one who asked for our help!” she said, glaring back at John.  “You.  What did you want with us?” she asked.

John sighed.  “I’m sure you…  You know what puberty for Wisps is like, right?” John asked, fiddling with his fork and pushing his hashbrowns around.

Melissa’s face went blank, suddenly very pain-ridden.

Talia’s face dropped.  “Oh dear…  Is it that time already?” she whispered.

John nodded.  “He’ll go through the change next week.  Stiles is already showing the early symptoms, and he’ll be lucky to get through the rest of the week.  I’m sure you both know what that means,” he whispered.

Talia nodded.  “I’ll make sure and keep the boys away from your house next week.  Call and let me know,” she said, nodding.

Shaking her head, Melissa shook.  “John, I’m so sorry.  I can’t imagine what it’s going to be going through THAT,” she said, as a chill ran down her spine.

 

+

 

Derek and Scott continued to share a bedroom in the Hale household even past their thirteenth birthday.  Despite the fact there were plenty enough rooms to give them both privacy, neither wanted to separate from the other.  

Though despite their brotherhood and unbreakable bonds, neither knew how to utilize personal space.  

Which was exactly why Stiles was neck deep in their closet, throwing random bits of dirty clothing out into a massive pile.

“SERIOUSLY?  If my dad EVER saw my closet was this bad, he’d throw me in jail for the night!  I don’t know how EITHER of you know where anything is!” Stiles exclaimed.

Scott sighed, shaking his head as he read comic books on the bed.  “I told you that Jackson borrowed your jacket last.  It’s not in Derek’s closet.  He hasn’t worn your size since he went hyper-buff,” he tried to explain for the fortieth time.

Stiles shook his head.  “No, I KNOW he borrowed it, because I told him it wouldn’t fit!  Asshole needs to stop borrowing my clothes, it’s pissing me off.  He stretches them out with his stupid muscles!” he moaned, kicking his feet against the ground angrily.

“Just borrow Jackson’s blazer to go out with Lydia.  This is your big date, right?” Scott offered, flipping another page in his book.

Stiles rolled his eyes.  “I’ve TOLD you guys I don’t care about Lydia Martin THAT WAY. We’re not dating, we’re just friends, and she’s…  Well, she’s helping me out with something, that’s all!” he shouted, pulling out a checkerboard button-up, immediately dismissing it.

“What on earth would Lydia Martin be helping you with?” Scott asked, shooting Stiles a less than convinced look.

“Secret!  Butt out of it!” Stiles shot back, finally leaving the closet as he came back with a white muscle shirt that belonged to Derek.  That seemed to be good enough.  “Can I borrow your leather jacket?” he asked.

Scott shook his head.  “No, Allison’s got it.  Borrow Derek’s,” he spat.

Stiles rolled his eyes.  Allison and Scott were in the “clothes swapping” stage of their relationship.  Allison wore Scott’s leather jacket, and Scott wore Allison’s frilly scarf.  The scenting combination apparently was a part of the courting process.  Stiles understood the first few years of supervised dating due to their age, but by the time Scott had hit thirteen with the rest of them, it had gotten into overkill.  Clothes swapping, moonlit hunts, and even declarations of mating intent during Scott’s thirteenth birthday party that most of the school had turned out to see..    

“Fine, whatever,” Stiles said, reaching into Scott and Derek’s shared closet and pulling out a black leather bike jacket.  As he swung it off the hanger, something flew out of the chest pocket, and fell to the carpeting.

Curiously, Stiles bent down and picked it up.

“What’s that?” Scott asked, glancing up from his books.

A gentle blush grew over Stiles’ face made him chuckle.  He flipped it in his hands and let Scott read the fine print.  

 

DH-Porn

 

“No fucking way.  DEREK does not have porn!” Scott shouted, scrambling out of bed and right into Stiles’ side.  

Stiles shook his head.  “Who’s dumb enough to label their porn that easily?  Better yet, how does he get it?!  For fuck’s sake, he must have bribed Danny the computer geek for it” he said, giggling as he moved to the computer.

Scott dropped his mouth.  “Dude, you're seriously not going to check out Derek's porn stash. That is a major bro-code violation. Like, DUDE,” he shouted.

Laughing, Stiles shook his head.  “Come on, with all the shit Derek gets to make fun of us for?  I say it’s high time we got some revenge!  Plus, what if it’s something like really funny, like a balloon fetish?” he giggled, sticking the drive into Scott and Derek’s computer and clicking through the computer screens.

“You’ve got to stop listening to Jackson.  I don’t care if he’s an incubus, he does NOT know everything about sex.  There is NO way there’s a balloon fetish,” Scott said, sitting on top of Derek’s bed as they both clicked through the flash drive’s directory.

Stiles read off several of the file names.  “What’s a…  Muscle Twink Dominatrix?” he said, double clicking on the file before thinking any further.

The scene came on, and both teens lost their shit.  

“Whoa,” Stiles muttered.

“DUDE, THE FUCK!?” Scott shouted, as his jaw dropped by a mile.

The video before them was VERY explicit. A muscular man with pecs the size of a small sedan and a tan of a Greek God had a pipsqueak pale nerd with short hair slammed against the wall and deep-throating him with his tongue.  Both were in black leather.

A male nerd twink.

A male nerd twink with a buzzcut.

“I love you…  Take me…  Take all of me!” the twink begged, as the muscle man ripped off his leather thong.

Scrambling, Stiles shut the video off, covering his face in the process.  Scanning down the file names, he started to get the full picture.  All of them related to men.  At the very bottom were hundreds of pictures.  Mostly pale thin dudes with little to no body hair.

“No fucking way,” Scott said, shaking his head as though the information were not right in front of him.

Stiles blinked.  “Derek's... Gay?!” he asked loudly.

 

+

 

Derek groaned, cracking his neck as he opened the front door to his house.  Not far behind him, Isaac fell to the hardwood floor with a loud thud.

“Derek…  I know I said I wanted to get stronger for Danny, but…  Seriously…  Did you have to throw me into a boulder?” Isaac asked, as every muscle in his body screamed in agony.

Shaking his head, Derek used his foot to push Isaac further inside and land him on the comfort of one of their many floor pillows.

“Isaac, you specifically asked me NOT to hold back.  I even asked you if you were sure.  You haven’t even hit puberty yet.  Just thank God you’re a werewolf and will heal in a couple of hours from all those broken bones and ruptured organs,” Derek scoffed.  

“HA HA.  Get me an ice pack and a bottle of beer before I bleed over the hardwood,,” Isaac demanded.

Rolling his eyes, Derek moved slowly to the kitchen.  He pulled open the freezer first, retrieving two pillow-sized ice packs from the bottom drawer.  “Wolf-Pack” was on the label, and he threw them both under his arms.  Simultaneously, Derek snagged two bottles of powerade from the fridge and trotted back to Isaac.

Whining, Isaac was none too pleased as the Wolf-Packs were set on his body, and steam escaped his over-sensitive skin.

“This is better than beer,” Derek said, putting both powerades in Isaac’s hands.  

Groaning, Isaac shot Derek an angry glare.  “They won’t get me drunk.  Mom said it’s okay to get drunk if we’re in the house,” he whined.

“Yeah, well I’m your Alpha.  Beer screws up with your healing.  I say no,” Derek said with a firm voice.

Isaac huffed.  “I want Stiles to take away the memory of you nearly killing me.  Get his wispy butt down here,” he demanded.

Mocking Isaac with his mouth, Derek began climbing up the stairs, kicking off his ruined sneakers in the process.  

Hearing Stiles and Scott’s voices in his bedroom, Derek doesn’t think twice about cracking the door open.

“Derek's.. Gay?!” Stiles asked loudly.

Derek's face was blank, and his world came to a screeching out. Mortification set in and he felt his insides shredded into a gooey mess of mangled nerves.

Scott and Stiles were on his computer.

They had his porn drive that he’d hidden in his non-washable leather jacket that his mother never touched.

They were watching his VERY gay porn.

His... Stiles dopplebanger porn.  

“What are you doing on my computer!?” Derek yelled.

Scott and Stiles fell to the ground from the force of Derek’s voice, scrambling to get back to their feet.

Stiles threw up his hands. “Dude, I am so sorry, I did not mean to get up in your business!  I just…  Sorry!  I didn’t mean to!”

Derek just shook his head, stepping away from them and back towards their room’s door.

Scott was already on his feet, stepping forward.  “Bro, are you…  Gay?  Like, seriously, are you gay?!” he exclaimed loudly.

“I... I... I...” Derek whispered.

Stiles pushed past Scott.

“Derek?  Are you?” Stiles asked quietly.

Derek bolted.

“DEREK!” Stiles shouted.

He barely felt the wind as it passed by him, dashing down the stairs, out the door, and into the dead woods, lacking any color thanks to the fall season.  Derek’s head was down, driven by his wolf to run as far away from them as possible.

 _“They know!  They…  They know!  It’s all over, it’s ruined, I’m…  I’m done!”_ he said, mentally cursing himself.

 _“Stupid.  Stupid.  STUPID.  ALL OF IT!”_ Derek shouted to himself, running through a tree and toppling it as he ran.  

He let the cuts on his face stop healing, so the wounds and the blood would stay.  The pain helped.  

Derek wasn’t sure where he was, where he was going, or what he was doing.  All he knew is that he had to run.  Run as far away and never look back.

 

+

 

Tracking Derek had been a delicate issue.  

The first being that he needed to explain to Talia and their parents why Derek hadn’t been home by 9 PM.  Thankfully, Stiles could count on his father to downplay the issue and let Stiles go out in the dark to find him.  He knew enough basic magic to mangle the worst of the threats out in the woods.

It also didn’t help that Derek’s scent was undetectable thanks to the speed in which he’d been running, leaving both Scott and Isaac useless.  Instead of making them wander aimlessly, Stiles had them scouting the nearby regions that Derek liked to go to for private time, leaving Jackson home to monitor their cell phones.

Stiles didn’t bother telling them he knew exactly where Derek was.  From the trail of emotions that Derek had left behind, he needed time to recover on his own before his friends got to him.

By dawn the next morning, Stiles knew he was close.  He felt Derek’s heart from a mile away, and spotted him near a lake, nearly 5 hours away from the Hale household.   

Derek was curled up in a ball, shirtless from his shift, and in a pair of athletic shorts they wore during PE that he always wore under his clothes.  They were ragged, and his Alpha was shivering from the cold of November.

Stiles didn’t bother saying a word.  He knew Derek could hear him approaching.

“How’d you find me?” Derek asked, his voice as dead as the massacre of trees he’d demolished around the region.

Stiles stepped over the dead trees, taking a seat on a stump that Derek had left behind.  “I’m a wisp.  I could follow your pain like a beacon it was so bad.  I’ve never felt anything like that before Derek.  Even after mom died, my dad didn’t feel that way.  That kind of pain…  It’s unique,” he answered.

Even as far apart as they were, Stiles let Derek’s agony float into him, easing his pain as best he could.

“How long have you known?” Stiles asked, huddling up for warmth in his jacket.  Well, Derek’s jacket.  It was the warmest thing he had in the house to grab at such short notice.

Derek held his head in between his knees.

“I've known for a long time. Ever since I became Alpha of our pack.  I..  I knew when I trained with my Uncle Peter,” he explained quietly.  “I…  I knew for sure after the culture festival in third grade.  I…  I fell in love with a guy then,” he explained.

“Why didn't you tell us?” Stiles said, feeling his heart shatter as Derek’s chest felt shredded.

Derek laughed.  Not a good Derek laugh either.  Stiles knew the difference.

“What? How I tell my best friends I'm gay? That their Alpha is GAY? Do you have any idea how fucking ridiculous of a notion that is? I'm a fucking weirdo. Werewolves should not EVER be gay. We're made to BREED and have pups and... DO STUFF!  MANLY STUFF!” Derek shouted, finally standing up and pacing around the lakeside.  His heart was revved, beating faster than would be normally possible for a human.  “I’m a goddamn failure.  I’m a MISTAKE.  I shouldn’t even exist!  IT’S WRONG!  EVERYTHING I’VE EVER READ SAYS ITS WRONG!” he yelled.

Derek slammed his hand into a tree, leaving a dent that eventually toppled it to the ground.

“I'm supposed to be building the pack! How's anyone going to take me seriously as an Alpha?!  I can’t even MATE right, Stiles..  I..  I’ll be a laughing stock,” he said, collapsing to his knees.  

Tears didn’t come.

Stiles felt them from Derek’s chest, but they never came.

“Anything else you want to get off your chest?” Stiles asked quietly.

Derek shook his head.  “No.  So go ahead, tell me I’m stupid and that you don’t care that I’m gay.  I know you Stiles, I know you’re a good guy that wouldn’t care, but nobody else is like you.  You fucking saw Scott in there.  He was DISGUSTED.  He couldn’t even believe that his Alpha was gay.  10 bucks says he leaves the pack in a few weeks,” he spat.

Taking a deep breath, Stiles began walking over to Derek.  He stood in front of him and bent down to his level.  “You’re wrong.  I do care that you’re gay and frankly it disgusts me,” he said darkly.

Derek raised his head up, as his heart warped around the possibility to Stiles rejecting him.  That wasn’t like Stiles.

Instead, he was met with a limb of a tree smacking him across the face and leaving a gash in his cheek.  

“IT DISGUSTS ME THAT YOU HELD ONTO THIS FOR SO LONG!  Motherfucker, you are such a goddamn ASSHOLE! YOU TELL YOUR PACK THESE THINGS, SO WE CAN HELP YOU!  DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW PISSED WE ARE ABOUT THIS?!  AFTER EVERYTHING WE’VE BEEN THROUGH, YOUR HEAD IS STUCK SO FAR UP YOUR ASS THAT YOU THINK YOUR GODDAMN PACK WOULD REJECT YOU?!  FUCKING HELL, DEREK, I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS,” Stiles screeched, as tears ran down his red eyes and face.

Derek was speechless.  Since they were kids, Stiles had NEVER yelled in his entire life.  Not when Jackson broke Claudia’s necklace by accident and destroyed it beyond repair.  Not when Scott broke Stiles’ arm during a full moon shift.  Not even when Isaac spilled juice all over Stiles’ best sweater in front of Lydia Martin.  

Stiles never got angry.  It just wasn’t him.

The tears were the worst of it.  They weren’t tears of concern or kindness.  These were angry tears, an emotion Stiles had never experienced before.

“We’re best friends Derek!  Best friends tell each other this shit!  I told you EVERYTHING about my mom, and I told you EVERYTHING about my life and about being a wisp!  You’re one of the most important people I have in my life, and you didn’t think you could trust me?!  You SUFFERED for this long?!  Goddamnit, I KNEW you were depressed somewhere on the inside, but you just never let me in!  I could have HELPED you!  Do you know how AWFUL I feel now?  How TERRIBLE I feel that you’ve been suffering all this time, and I could have…  Have…” Stiles said, falling to his knees and throwing his arms around Derek.  He tackled him to the ground, crying into his shoulder.  

Derek’s heart thudded.  

“Derek…  Derek, we don’t care…  Scott wasn’t disgusted, he was MAD like I was.  Isaac and Jackson know too.  Neither of them care.  We’re your pack, and NOTHING is going to change, okay?” Stiles said.

Nervously, Derek threw his arm over Stiles’ back.  He held his mate close, knowing that his mate was hurting.  He’d made Stiles hurt.  

“DUDE, I'll research for you when we get home, I'm good at looking up stuff! Gay werewolves? Gotta be a thing!  You’re not alone, I promise,” Stiles said, hiccuping.  “Scott will beat the shit out of anyone that says anything, but he's already saying that you're getting an ass-beating for not telling us!  You’re going to take it too!” he threatened, laughing in the process.  “Jackson and Isaac? Well, Jackson can help you coordinate your clothes, cuz you sort of dress like you're always on laundry night, no offense. Isaac's a loyal pack member, he'll be your wingman,” he said.

Slowly, two important facts snapped into place for Derek.  

His pack wanted to stay with him.  

His mate cared.

“Derek…  Let’s go home.  We’ll figure it out there.  Just…  Just come home.  We don’t have to talk about it tonight, but…  Please just don’t go anywhere,” Stiles begged.

Smiling, Derek held Stiles closer.  

“In a bit.  Just…  Just don’t go anywhere,” Derek whispered.  He planted himself in Stiles’ neck.

Stiles nodded.  “It’s fine.  Everyone needs a wisp!” he said brightly, using Derek’s chest as a pillow.

 _“I just need my Stiles,”_ Derek thought to himself.

 

+++

 

Talia didn’t ask why Derek hadn’t gotten home by curfew.  Or why he was half naked and cut to pieces.  Instead, she ordered him to clean out the garage during the weekend, and detail her car until it shined as punishment.    

After a shower and changing, Derek gathered the pack in the basement.  Not that there was any more privacy than their bedrooms, but Talia stayed away from it.  It was their pack’s territory and Talia respected that.

Sat at the head of their wooden table, Derek took a deep breath as all eyes were on him.  Stiles nodded supportively close to him.

“I’m gay,” Derek admitted.  It was the first time the words had actually left his lips.  

Jackson was the first to speak, shifting nervously at the back of the table with Isaac.  “Uh, wow.  Did not see that coming, I’ll be honest.  I figured this was a big joke on Scott’s part,” he said quietly.

Derek dropped his head.  “If you want to…  leave the pack, I-”

“But…  I’m glad you told us,” Jackson said, shutting Derek up mid-sentence.  “It’s like you’ve never been really open with us.  Like you’ve been a stranger we never really understood.  I mean, we all had shitty childhoods and knew about that, but…  You never really talked to us like we talked to each other, and now I guess I know why,” he said, folding his arms.  “Don’t keep secrets Derek, okay?  We’re your pack.  You don’t just help us and that’s that.  We help you too,” he ordered.

Derek let out an easy breath, and turned to Isaac warmly.  

Isaac didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.  “You’re my Alpha, Derek.  You saved my life back when I was a pup, and I swore loyalty to you until the day I die.  Nothing will ever change that.  You guys are my new family, and I don’t want to lose you.  Ever!” he announced.  

Scott rubbed the back of his head.  “So like…  Derek, I’m totally cool with this, no issues whatsoever.  You are literally my brother.  I don’t say it often enough, but you are.  We’re thicker than blood, and damn, if anyone pops a fag joke at you, I’ll rip their faces off and feed it to their cat.  Don’t even worry, dude,” he said.  

Scott popped up from beside Derek, and hugged him, slapping his back in the process.  “Love you man.  No matter what,” he announced.

After a mushy moment of brotherly love, the pack returned to their respective seats.  

“So uh, so any pack items to discuss?  How about-” Derek said, silenced as Stiles raised his hand.

“I’m bi,” Stiles admitted.

The table went deathly quiet.

“You’re..  What?” Scott asked, eyeing him curiously.

Stiles sighed.  “It means I like both guys and girls.  Lydia’s been letting me be talking to her mom, who’s bi too.  Dad knows, but I uh…  I wanted you guys to know too.  I’d been a little scared, but Derek telling you guys about himself made me realize what a-”

Before he could adequately finish his sentence, Derek had his arms around Stiles, crushing him.

  
  


+++++

  
  


With their group finally opened up to each other, things finally settled into place once more for Derek’s pack.  In retrospect, nothing really changed.  

Saturday nights were the same old, same old.  Popcorn, a bad movie in the basement’s ancient DVD player, and nobody actually watching the movie.

Scott snorted.  “I’m bossy, have the most expensive haircut in Beacon Hills, and once dug my heel in Jackson’s crotch,” he said, throwing popcorn in the air and catching it with his mouth.

"Lydia Martin!" Stiles shrieked.

“Point to Stiles!” Scott shouted.

Jackson rolled his eyes.  “It wasn’t a heel, it was her tennis shoes,” he spat.

“You still talked funny for a week,” Isaac pointed out, stealing a handful of Jackson’s popcorn.  “I’m gay, I have a gigantic man-crush on Derek, and secretly wish to make out with him in the showers after PE,” Isaac said.

“Danny,” everyone in the room except Derek said in unison.

Rolling his eyes, Derek threw several kernels at Isaac.  

“I’m a brown haired exorcist with a serious crush on Scott and my parents totally want mini-Scotties to make their blood stronger,” Derek said with a playful smirk.

Isaac stood up.  “OH, I love Scotty with all my heart!  I want to marry him and kiss him and make out in the back of the movies like none of his brothers can smell it!” he said, putting on a fake voice.

Unhappily, Scott folded his arms, blushing at the sight.

Jackson snickered, prodding Scott with his foot.  “Come on, you KNOW you’ve got a raging wolf-boner for her,” he said in a sultry, incubi-infused voice.

A wet slurp echoed in the room, almost like a popping noise one could make in their mouth.

Scott grimaced in pain, covering his crotch and bypassing pack formality as he reached in his pants.  "Ow! Something stung me! Motherfu-" he began to yell, until his face froze in place.  Whatever he had grabbed was not what he'd expected.  

Isaac jumped away from the couches, running to the corner of the room and trying to hide his nose in the corner.

Derek sniffed the air and immediately dry heaved.  "Fuuuuck dude, you did NOT just do that here!  God, I can smell it!  I can smell your…  STUFF.  You're already leaking!" He shouted

Jackson smirked.  “Damn.  I’m not going to need to feed for a month.  God damn dude,” he laughed, suddenly VERY pleased at the change in atmosphere.

Very confused, Stiles kept glancing around the room, seeing the various reactions.  “Did I miss something?” he asked, only feeling his heart thud especially louder than normal.

Stiles turned to Derek.  He looked an even darker shade of red than Scott.  As though he were deeply humiliated.

"Please Derek.  Don't make me say it," Scott whined, who had taken to hiding behind the couch.

"Scott just popped his knot,” Derek said.

Stiles felt his jaw drop.  “Oh…  OH!,” he shouted, blushing.

“Guys, can you…  Can you please like leave me alone for ten minutes?  And uh…  Maybe bring me a clean pair of underwear?” Scott said, hiding behind the couch and shaking furiously.  

Without needing much of an invitation, Derek’s pack exited the basement in a matter of seconds.  Isaac slammed the door behind them, coughing up his lungs.

“Oh my god that STANK,” Isaac said, rubbing his nose on Stiles to get the smell out.

Derek sighed.  "It's the start of werewolf sexuality.  Guys pop knots and girls can get wet to stimulate the breeding process.  Our instincts become more wolf-like, and we have heightened senses.  There’s going to be a lot of smelling that shit around this house, get used to it," Derek grumbled

Isaac groaned.

“He’ll smell you when you pop too.  You can get revenge then,” Derek offered.

Jackson rubbed his stomach.  “So like, I’m still starving for sexual energy, so I’ll take him his underpants,” he said, cackling loudly in the hallways.

Isaac sighed.  “I’m going to bed.  I’m emotionally traumatized and not sure if I will recover.  If anyone loves me, they will never speak of this night again or bring me chocolate,” he exclaimed dramatically, staggering towards his bedroom.

Rolling his eyes, Derek led Stiles up the stairs and into the living area.  All of their backpacks and duffle bags were gathered near the door.  With a long weekend coming up, they’d all decided to go camping for a few nights.  It would also be the first time Talia would not be accompanying them.  

“I am so ready for tomorrow.  I’ve got this awful itch that I just can’t scratch and I know it’s because Talia has been sniffing me since…  Well, you know…  The day?” Derek said, obviously signaling the day he came out.

Stiles grinned.  “That’s because you smell HAPPY.  It’s good on you,” he whispered, patting Derek on the back.  “OH! That reminds me!” he announced, scrambling away from Derek and towards his duffle bag.  He retrieved several items, from a cardboard box, to a binder and a small pamphlet, and white sheets listed with numbers.

Proudly, Stiles handed Derek the pamphlet first.

Derek took the brochure in his hand. “So You're Gay and a Werewolf” was emblazoned on the front, with two teenage boys hugging on the cover.

“I've been researching gay werewolves like I said I would. You were worried about it so much that I wanted to look up and see if there were support systems that might be able to help you. Did you know that 13% of male werewolves are gay, and over 23% of female werewolves are lesbians? It's a very real thing, so don't be freaked out anymore. You're not alone in this, and you’ve got brothers who feel the same exact way that you do,” he announced, hugging Derek from the side.

Derek couldn’t breath properly.  He opened the brochure and was met with full colored photos.  Gay werewolves getting married, with two tuxedos slicing a cake and kissing each other.  They were very happy looking, and the staging of the photo was very natural.  Another image had two football players holding hands and kissing after a game.  Their friends were around them, holding onto them for support and smiling gleefully.  

He zeroed in under the football player picture for the caption.

 

_“I felt like I’d failed my pack.  My dad always made sure I knew how important having pups were, and that getting my mate was the most important thing I should be doing on Saturday nights.  After I met Mark at a local diner, we knew we were mates.  I couldn’t go a day without seeing him, and would get visibly sick on the days I had to “hide” our relationship._

_Dad wasn’t happy about it.  Most of my pack wasn’t happy about it either, and I ended up getting rejected by by Alpha and kicked out of the pack when I was sixteen and technically a werewolf adult._

_But Mark’s pack accepted me and him as mates.  I was welcomed into their home and found my place as an Omega for the pack, providing for the house and being a den mother._

_Mark and I were married when I was 21, and we’ve adopted two beautiful girls that we’re raising as our own.  One human, and one siren._

_My life has never been better.”_

 

Derek turned to the other testimonial, of two mates kissing under a rose bush.

 

_“Being a werewolf and being gay together was hell.  Instinct drives us to reproduce and make things all about the pack.  So when I bonded with Gregory and felt the pull of mate, I freaked out.  I kept telling myself that it wasn’t RIGHT.  That my pack needed me to be straight, so I tried to stay away from Gregory._

_Turns out that my pack needed ME to be ME._

_I was useless without Gregory.  I became so depressed that I nearly committed suicide, and would go for weeks without hunting or eating.  My little sister kept saying I was a corpse just waiting to happen._

_She was right.  Fighting who I was had killed me on the inside, but I was too afraid to do anything about it._

_My Alpha took me aside and forced me to admit what was wrong.  They weren’t happy, but would rather have me alive and part of the pack then miserable and lonely._

_Gregory and I are still struggling through our feelings.  It’s a battle that we face daily, but we’re getting through it together."_

 

“There’s tons of testimonials on their website.  You can even chat and e-mail others on the site and ask them tons of questions.  I suggest the forum, where you can actually talk to people your own age and use each other for support,” Stiles said,blushing slightly.  “Oh, and…  The same forums said that gay werewolves can still mate like normal, but you have to prep anal cavities more than what two humans would do. Knotting can be painful, but doable and pleasurable for both parties if prepped properly. There's no reason why you can't have a normal sex life,” he said quietly.

Derek blushed as well.  Not that he liked to brag, but “Derek Junior” had been getting bigger as he got bigger, and he constantly wondered if something like…  Sex…  Was possible.

“OH, and here!” Stiles said, grabbing the small box and throwing it in Derek’s hand.

Derek felt his hands tremble with the package.  Inside of it was a disposable cell phone, an address book filled with handwritten numbers, and e-mail addresses.

“So like, there's not a counseling center nearby, but there are online chatrooms and numbers you can call.  Got a few emails from the local colleges’ LGBTQIA community that would love to have you e-mail them questions or anything you want to know.   That's a disposable cell phone if you're worried about your mom checking your normal phone records. Don't tell my dad, but I snagged this from the station. I called most of the counseling centers and spend an hour talking to them about my friend that needed them to make sure they’re on the up and up. They're SUPER nice and have great reviews!” he announced.

Derek recognized one name at the very top of the list.  Under the header entitled “Security & Safety Resources”.

 

Peter Collins - Ally - LGBTQIA Werewolf Legal Liaison  pch@bhcouncil.net

 

Collins was his Uncle’s Middle name.  The email address was his personal contact he used at work for the Beacon Hills City Council.  

Before he had time to adequately assess what his Uncle’s name meant, he felt Stiles hurl a thick white binder into his hands.

“All the research I read shows that it helps to talk to friends and come out when you're ready. I mean, the pack knows, but I’m talking people like Lydia, Allison, and your moms.  My dad too.  I’m not going to push you or ever ask you to do it before you’re ready, but just know that I’ll be there when you do,” Stiles said, flipping through the pages.

“Oh, and I've been snooping around the school for you some boyfriends. There's a guy named Danny at our school that's gay too. He's pretty good looking. I'm guessing you're into twinks by the porn we watched? Also, I've had to look up so much gay code that I'm pretty much an expert. Oh, and FYI, the hanky code for werewolf sex is fur. Knotting is fur and argyle for whatever fucking reason. I printed out all the info in this binder,” he said, still not stopping his verbal diarrhea as he flipped through the tabs.  “Uh, werewolves can't get STIs since you're already through your immune system kick, but your cum is mildly acidic, so you're going to need to use protection on humans and vampires. You can bareback on any other species though. Well, maybe let me research it for you first to be sure, but like, most species have super ass muscles,” Stiles said, blushing at the topic.

Derek felt his face burning.  Tears were forming under his eyes, and everything was just so…  Perfect.  

“As for pups, there is always adoption. In fact, I looked it up. Werewolf pups hardly ever get adopted because packs like to breed and keep things within pack dynamics, so there's like thousands of pups out there that need a home. Werewolves adoption agencies don't discriminate, I called a couple anonymously and all of them were EAGER to talk to me, even when I posed as a gay werewolf who had a husband. I even checked online forums and called a few people that went through it. It's all legit, and no more difficult than regular adoption, so you don't have to worry about kids. You'll make a great pack dad, and omega pups latch on to alphas after being abandoned. They'll love you no matter what, dude.  PAPA DEREK!  I can see it now,” Stiles said, slugging Derek playfully in the arm.

PUPS.  Derek felt his heart leap.  He wasn’t even aware werewolf adoptions were a thing.  He’d certainly never heard of them, mostly because his mother had always talked about him breeding new pack.  But he could have REAL pups!

Stiles broke his concentration, flipping through pages once more and stopping at psychology articles.

“Oh, and... Just know that your mom will probably freak out a little, but that's normal for Alphas to react when hearing their pack won’t have mating members. It’s instinct, and most people recommend that you come out and immediately cover your ears, or come out via proxy.  She'll calm down after that and think rationally when her human side comes back. It's best to just let her rage a bit, and-

As if a miracle of God, Stiles stopped talking as Derek grabbed Stiles and clutched him close to his chest.  

Stiles blinked a few times. “Uh, dude, why are you hugging me?”

“Because you're fucking you, that's why. Shut the fuck up and let me have this moment,” Derek said, in a lighthearted voice.

Smiling, Stiles hugged back.  “You’re my best friend Derek.  I just want you to be happy and not ever have to worry about anything in the whole wide world,” he said, leaning into Derek’s neck.

Derek laughed.    “I want you to know Stiles, that you are the most wonderful person in this world, and whoever gets you…  Well, they’re getting a fucking angel, that’s all they need to know,” he said warmly.

A devilish grin covered Stiles’ face.  “Not TOO much of an angel.  Scott didn't let me research dildos. He said you'd be a topper, but I wasn't sure. They've got discreet fleshlight deliveries if you are a topper. My dad wouldn't think twice about it. Well, at least if Jackson didn't get it first. THEN you might have a problem,” he rambled.

“Shut up Stiles and let me hug you,” Derek said, growling under his breath.

 

+

 

After his pack had fallen asleep, Derek jetted out of the Hale house and into the main stretch of the city.  Throwing on the thin T-shirt and shorts that he could carry in his wolf mouth, he banged on the oak door of a house in the middle of downtown.

The door swung open, revealing Peter Hale in a black bath robe  He seemed to smile devilishly.  “Ah, Derek.  Come in, come in, it’s been far too long!” Peter said, ushering Derek inside the regal and clutter-free house.

“Thanks Uncle Peter,” Derek said, feeling his Uncle’s warm hand on his shoulder.  Peter always felt mildly like his father.  A creepier father to be sure, but they had the same blood.

The two moved into the living area, where Derek could see a fire roaring, and a mass of blankets on the floor with a half-read book.  Besides a leather couch and a bookshelf, the entire house was empty.  

Plopping down on the couch next to each other, Peter took a deep breath.  “So Derek, what brings my nephew all the way into town?  Has there been a murder?  Do I need to make some calls, do some bribing?” he joked, with a gentle laughter that screamed “I may or may not be kidding”.

Derek shook his head.  “I saw your name on the LGBTQIA list.  You talk to people that…  Are in that list,” he said, stammering over the words.

Peter smirked.  “I joined that group a week after you left Alpha training.  I had hoped you would have come out by now, but I wanted to make sure you had a network in place to support you.  The thought of my nephew having to hide himself is insulting.  You’re a Hale and should be proud of who you are, killing anyone that dares to defy you,” he answered.

Looking away, Derek fumbled with his hands anxiously.

Peter saw his fear and sighed.

“Your father made me swear something before he passed on.  He made me swear, no matter what, to make you happy.  I take that task very seriously,” he explained.  He put his arm around Derek and pulled him closer into a loving hug.  “There is nothing you will ever say to me that will make me not love you, or make me break my brother’s promise.  I would kill for you Derek.  I need you to believe that,” he explained.

Derek’s face softened.  Shaking, he gulped.

“Uncle Peter, I’m gay,” Derek finally admitted.  The words felt like knives stabbing through his heart.  “And…  Stiles is my mate.  Just like you said,” he said..  

Peter held out his hand to Derek.  “Congratulations young man, on taking the first step.  I am incredibly proud of you,” he said warmly.

Sighing in relief, Derek collapsed on the couch, breathing heavily.  “Uncle Peter…  It feels so good to say it…” he said, laughing quietly to himself.

Peter smiled.  “Now there’s something important you need to do.  Something that’s going to be even more difficult than what you just did,” he whispered.

Derek snorted.  “Tell Talia?” he said with a curt tone.

Shaking his head, Peter patted his nephew on the leg.  “When you’re ready, I’ll tell Talia by proxy.  You don’t need to see her wolf react.  But no, not telling your mother.  What’s the most important thing right now is to tell Stiles that you’re his mate, and VERY quickly,” he answered.

Derek’s confidence dropped to the center of the earth.


	7. Chapter 7

Leather jacket?  Check.

Clean jeans?  Check.

Fresh underwear?  Check.  

Derek glanced himself over in the mirror, combing his hair as best he could.  

The camping trip had been fun, but never had a chance to have a private moment with Stiles.  Then Stiles hadn’t been in school on Monday morning, when he’d planned on telling Stiles during the lunch hour.  

So he chose to do something a little differently.  His Uncle Peter would drive him to Stiles’ house, and would take them to the local French Bistro.  It wouldn’t be a real “Date”, since Peter would be there, but it would always be best to have a chaperone at the first stages of courting.  More for Stiles’ respect than his own, given the strength he had over Stiles.

Taking a deep breath, Derek bent down and stole Scott’s cologne.  Allison always complimented it, so Derek sprayed it over his neck.  A subtle scent to be sure, but still fresh.

Derek turned to his bed.  Atop the messy jumble of sheets was a bouquet of red roses.  Red was Stiles’ favorite color, and roses were the flowers of romance.  He grabbed them up, and moved outside his bedroom.  Tiptoeing down the staircase, he watched as Isaac and Scott shot him incredulous looks.

“OOOH.  Where’s lover boy heading out to?” Isaac asked, with a sly grin.

Scott sniffed him.  “DUDE!  That’s MY cologne!  Allison gave me that for my birthday!” he screamed.

Derek rolled his eyes.  “Scott, you've borrowed my underwear before.  So shut up, both of you,” he spat.  

“Sweetie?  Are you…  Are you going somewhere tonight?” Talia asked, putting her latest novel down on the table beside her.  She couldn’t hide her joy.

Derek shook his head.  “Nah, I’m going over to Stiles’ place.  It’s his birthday today, and I felt bad he was sick at school.  Thought I’d bring him some flowers,” he lied.  Following his Uncle Peter’s advice, Derek hadn’t told his mother yet.  They’d get through THAT part at a later time.

Talia’s face dropped.  “Oh…  Derek, you can’t do that.  John asked us not to come over until Stiles is better.  It’s just the flu, he’ll be better at the end of the week,” she said.

Derek felt his mother’s heartbeat tick.  She was lying.

“Uh huh.  Care to try that again?” Derek said, rolling his eyes as he made his way to the front door.

“DEREK.  I told you that you cannot go to Stiles’ house tonight!  That’s an order!” Talia spat.

Growling, Derek shot his mother an angry glare.  

The tension was cut as Melissa stood up and went to Derek’s side.  She put her arm on Derek’s shoulder.  “Sweetie, John did actually ask us not to visit until the week was up.  Stiles is very sick right now and won’t be up for visitors for a while.  I offered to let him stay in the hospital, but Stiles refused,” she explained.

No uptick in Melissa’s heart.  She wasn’t laying.

Derek’s eyes flashed a deeper than usual red.

_Mate.  Sick._

Dropping the flowers, Derek was out of the front door in a flash, nearly breaking the front door as he dashed.  

Talia was on her feet in seconds.  “Isaac, Scott, I need you to help me,” she demanded, already in the process of shifting into a full wolf.

 

+

 

Derek slammed his fist against the door.  “JOHN.  OPEN UP,” he demanded.  His voice as drooling with Alpha tones.

After a few moments, John came to the door, panicking as he spotted Derek.

“Derek…  I thought your mother would have told you this, but Stiles is-” John tried to explain, completely fruitless as Derek shoved him out of the way.

The smell was wrong.  Stiles wasn’t in the house, that much was for sure.  The vanilla scent was gone completely, replaced with a grotesque smell of rotten milk.

“Derek, don’t!” John said, grabbing Derek by the hand.  “You don’t want to see him like this.  Don’t go in-” he said, silenced as Derek pulled his own hand away.

Walking forward, it didn’t take long for Derek to realize what John was saying.

Derek stopped just short of the Stilinski living room couch, where Stiles was laying on.  His hands were held together, as if in prayer, and Stiles’ body was dressed in an oversized hospital gown.  A bouquet of flowers were set beside him, as were several photographs of him, the pack, and his mother.  His mother’s leatherbound Wisp book was opened, in the chair that John must have been sitting in.

His eyes knew the truth, but Derek stepped forward anyway.  He put his hand over Stiles’ heart and waited for it to beat.

After several minutes, all Derek could hear was silence.

No blood was traveling throughout his body.

The nerves in his brains weren’t firing.

He wasn’t breathing in the slightest.

Stiles was dead.  

Derek stood there, feeling as his heart enveloped in a cold ice.  The pit of his stomach became a vortex, where every conceivable emotion gathered to throb painfully.

“Derek..  Derek, I need you to-”

John found himself hurdled across his home, landing against the wall and shattering the glass of several family portraits.

Derek growled and moved towards John, already in half-shift.  His claws and fangs were out.

“Derek, STOP!” Talia shrieked, grabbing at his arms and legs.  

Isaac and Scott were on him in a matter of seconds, holding him back as well.  “Derek, stop!  That’s Stiles’ dad!  That’s JOHN!” Scott pleaded.

With three werewolves on him, Derek had no chance of moving.  He struggled to get free constantly, but whined as angry tears fell down his face.

“HE’S DEAD!  STILES IS DEAD!” Derek sobbed.  

Isaac and Scott turned to the couch, where their ears perked to listen in.  As they failed to hear a heartbeat, they reluctantly kept holding onto Derek.

John struggled to stand up, as blood fell from the scratches that the broken glass had left inside of him.

“Derek..  Derek, I-” John stammered.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY MATE?!”” Derek screeched, nearly breaking his mother’s arm in the process of getting at John.  Scott and Isaac both stopped moving, and Talia’s mouth dropped.

The family went quiet.

Fangs bared and tears rolling, Derek shook wildly.  “What.. . WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!?  WHY DID YOU KILL MY MATE!?  HE WAS YOUR SON!  HE…  He…  he…” he said, screaming at the start, but losing his heart halfway through the speech.

“He’s not dead,” Jackson whispered.

All eyes shifted to the top of the stairs.  Jackson looked like hell, in a pair of worn pajamas and face red from crying.

Jackson walked down the stairs, trying to avoid looking at Stiles’ corpse.

Derek growled.  “HE’S DEAD JACKSON!  HIS HEART ISN’T BEATING!  HE’S DEAD!  THERE’S NO SOUL IN HIM!” he screeched.

Shaking his head, Jackson stopped by Stiles’ body.  “He’s going through Wisp puberty.  It’s called “The Change”.  Part of that change is his body dying while his soul grows outside of his mortal constraints,” he said, taking a deep breath.  “He’ll also grow to his full weight and height during this time.  It’s a painful process that would kill lesser beings.  If he weren’t dead, he’d wish he was,” he finished explaining.

“He’s…  Correct,” John mumbled.

Derek felt his body stop moving.

“Stiles is a Wisp.  His puberty is much different than any of yours.  He’s a creature of emotion, and so his soul has to “grow up” just as much as his body.  In order to do that, he can’t be stuck inside his physical body and needs to visit the realm of the dead.  He’s coming back Derek.  All Wisps die and are reborn around their thirteenth or fourteenth birthdays.  I saw my wife go through it when she was a young woman, and saw her return to us,” he explained.

Derek glanced at Stiles’s body.  He zoned his hearing in, and listened carefully.  Sure enough, Stiles’ bones were cracking and breaking, while his skin and muscles grew out to accommodate the new size.  

He smelt the hormones being released into Stiles’ system.  

Talia and the others let Derek go, as he slumped to the floor.

“I didn’t want any of you to know this, because it’s a painful process to watch.  Even though Stiles won’t feel any of it, it…  It hurts to see it and experience.  It hurts to see someone you love dead.  I saw that firsthand with my wife, and I didn’t want you kids seeing that.  Even if it wasn’t permanent,” John explained quietly.

Moving forward, Derek held his hand out to John.  “I’m sorry,” he said quietly, feeling his heart thump rapidly.

Laughing, John shook his head.  “That’s okay, I’ve had worse.  Had a guy on PCP nearly break my neck,” he said, wiping blood from his neck.  “Shouldn’t have tried lying to a werewolf in the first place,” he laughed.

Satisfied with his apology, Derek shucked off his shirt and jacket, already shifting to his wolf self.  He walked out of his jeans, his his ears and tail both pointed down.’

Wolf Derek climbed on the couch with Stiles, resting his head on his mate’s chest.  He closed his eyes, and tried to settle comfortably on the couch.  Given his teenage wolf’s size, it was a tight fit.

 

+

 

Still with a blank expression, Talia watched her son pine over his…  Mate.  

So much made sense now.  As an Alpha, her son should have found a mate by the first grade.  Which, he had.  She’d just been too stupid to realize it.

His feral side.  It had come out when she’d called him “broken”.  A definitely insult to any gay werewolf.  

The bond Derek had with Stiles, his overprotectiveness?  It was odd for a werewolf to act in such a way, even for a pack runt.  Though it was natural for a mate to feel that way.

Talia felt her wolf screaming on the inside.  Her son, her ONLY son, wouldn’t be providing pups for the pack.  The Hale bloodline would be ending.  Scott and Isaac were not Hale blood.  Peter obviously had no intention of mating.  Her husband was dying all over again.  She's never see Kyle's grandchildren.  Fury ran through her veins.

Still, seeing her son relaxed and with his mate?

The mother inside would always win out over the wolf.  Instead of ripping into her son and ruining his happy moment, Talia was already outside the Stilinski house, walking off the porch before she felt a familiar presence.

Peter folded his arms, sat up on the porch’s railing.  “I suppose the cat’s out of the bag?” he asked quietly.

Talia shook her head.  “How…  How did I not see it?!” she asked, covering her face in shame.

“You didn’t want to see it,” Peter answered grimly.  He glared at Talia angrily, shooting her a dark stare.  “With Kyle dead, all you have ever cared about is expanding the pack.  I know the two of you wanted to have an entire litter of kids, but his death made that an impossibility.  You can’t mate with anyone else, so that left your children to take on that responsibility.  Alpha mentality at its finest,” he explained.

Talia growled.  “There’s more to all of this than him being happy!  Peter…  He’s…  He’s GAY!  Do you have any idea of what kind of life he’s going to lead now?!  Other packs are never going to respect him properly!  He’ll never have biological pups of his own, and his heart will ACHE with that knowledge.  All he’s going to have is MISERY in his life now!” she screamed.

“And you wonder why he never calls you “mom”,” Peter spat, growling under his breath

Taken aback, Talia stopped talking.

“Derek doesn’t care what the world thinks of him.  All he cares is what YOU think of him, and even if he doesn’t think of you as a mother or an Alpha, you ARE his mother.  Act like it, and show him some support.  He’s gay, not doing drugs or going off to join the circus.  Nothing has changed about your son.  If anything, maybe he’ll start being happier now.  Do you really want to see your son brooding all his life?” he asked rhetorically.  

Hopping off the railing, Peter moved close to Talia.  

“Your son needs your love about this.  Otherwise, he’ll end up being exactly like me.  With a lifetime of resentment for his parents, and missing the opportunity of being with his mate.  I lost Jared because my Alpha ordered me to abandon him and break ties with my mate, turning me into the loveless husk of a man I am today.  I’d sooner fight you for Alpha rights than let Derek go through that,” Peter said, not breaking eye contact for a moment.

walking past Talia, Peter sighed.  “Just so you know?  Kyle looked the same way at you when he knew you were mate, that Derek’s looking at Stiles tonight.  And…  You know how good Kyle was to you,” he whispered, before he trotted back off to his parked car.

Talia stayed out in the cold night, looking up at the twinkling stars overhead.  Slowly, she turned back into the Stilinski home.  Isaac and Scott were doctoring John in a corner seat, while Derek hadn’t left the spot he’d laid down on Stiles’ corpse.  .  

Slowly, she walked by her son and future son-in-law.  

Talia put her hands around Derek’s neck and kissed him gently between the eyes.  “Take good care of your mate until he gets better.  We’ll have…  Have the first courting dinner when he wakes up.  I love you Derek, and I don’t want you to ever change” she said, planting another kiss on Derek’s forehead.  

A low howl left Derek’s snout.

“Thanks mom”

 

+

 

The first day had been absolute torture.  John watched Derek basically cry for 12 hours straight, hiding it by stuffing his head inside Stiles’ neck.  

Derek had calmed down on the second day, in which John sat down next to his son and tried to watch television.  After a few hours, he flipped it off, and instead gave Derek a sympathetic look.  “You’re good for my son, and I trust that you’re going to make him incredibly happy.  Don’t ever screw that up.  Because frankly you’re like a son to me, and I can’t bear the thought of losing either of you over a breakup.  I can’t handle losing anyone else in my life, got it?” was all John said before switching back on the television set and doing a very bad job at covering his tears.  

Day three would be the worst for Stiles’ corpse.  Every bone in his body broke, and his skin and muscles grew exponentially.  His hair shifted in color from its dark blonde into full blown brown, growing out to a respectable length.  Though he’d never admit it to anyone, Derek also felt a certain something growing in Stiles’ lap.

Talia explained on the fourth day that Derek likely couldn’t leave his wolf form even if he wanted to, after John expressed his distress.  The wolf side was stronger physically, and could protect one’s defenseless mate much better than the human side.  It also helped that the wolf couldn’t feel complex emotions while on that same instinct, and was probably the only reason why Derek hadn’t jumped off a cliff.

The fifth day, Isaac and Scott came to relieve Derek for a few hours.  Wolf-Derek needed to bathe, use the restroom, and eat something.  He hadn’t done any of those things since he first discovered Stiles.  Only RELUCTANTLY did he agree, and only because Scott used his “second” abilities to convince Derek it was for the best of the pack.  His bath lasted all of 20 minutes, and he ate enough food out of a bowl on the floor to last for a week.  After all was said and done, Derek was back on Stiles’ lap and snapped at Isaac and Scott when they tried to get him to “go for a run”.  They backed down.

Uncle Peter came to visit on the sixth day.  He sat next to Derek and gently petted his head while telling stories about his father’s courtship with his mother.  Apparently Papa Kyle enjoyed quiet evenings at home with a good book, while Mother Talia was into metal bands and out of control mosh-pit concerts.  Date nights were always a fight that usually ended up with Peter hearing crazy sex sounds coming from the upstairs bedroom.  Derek dry heaved and attempted to vomit on Peter’s lap as retribution.

On the seventh day, Derek was surprised to see Jackson walk through the front door and plop down next to him and Stiles.  Apparently, there was a rumor going around school that Derek had murdered Stiles and the police were out looking for him.  A rumor started by a douche named Greenberg.  A douche that Jackson beat into a pulp, and earned him a week long suspension from school.  

The family was eager on the eighth day, knowing that Stiles would be coming back to them.  Most everyone, save for Derek and John, were at the Hale compound decorating for Stiles’ birthday party, or cooking the feast that the week-long dead Stiles would need to eat in order to get his strength back.  Given the circumstances revolving around Derek and Stiles, John had opted to make it a private party just for the two families.  

Derek had somehow managed to snag a nap, his body relaxing for the first time that entire week.  Warmth had been slowly returning to Stiles’ body.  The heart had started back up early in the morning, but the brain hadn’t been firing quite yet.

So as Derek woke up and raised his head, he was shocked as Stiles cupped his cheek.  

“Hey…  It’s fur-butt,” he said, in a deeper voice than he’d previously owned.  Though even in its deeper tone, it was a very weakened state.

Derek licked Stiles’ face, while throwing his wolf-paws around Stiles’s neck and whimpering painfully as Stiles rubbed Derek’s fur.  

“Missed you guys…  Being dead sucked.  Well, sort of.  The whole mystery of life and death being solved was kind of cool.  Well, I guess it’s different for different races and species, but…  Hey, I got to see stuff nobody else gets to see,” Stiles explained, pulling Derek as close as he could.

Derek smiled, barking once in a very high pitched glee.

“Man, I feel stronger.  Like I can pretty much feel every emotion in a mile radius.  The next door neighbor is going through a bit of depression since her dog died.  I didn’t even know her dog died, or even that she had a dog!  Holy fuck, my dad has GUILT in his heart!  He’s been cheating on his diet again!” Stiles exclaimed, laughing wildly while he shook his head.  “I’m seriously going to have to learn to block this out…  Oh my God, my heart is POUNDING,” he chuckled.  

Derek didn’t bother to reply.  Hearing Stiles ramble again was a gift from God.  He rested his head on Stiles’ chest again, hearing that beautiful beating heart.

“So uh…  I saw my mom.  I saw your dad too,” Stiles said, petting Derek’s head and clinging onto him for warmth as his body started to circulate fresh blood.

Derek raised his head up, and cocked it to the side.

“Yeah.  My mom.  I spent the whole week with her, Derek.  We got to talk about everything in the world, and I..  I loved it,” Stiles said, wiping tears out of his eyes.  He shook off the sadness, and took a deep breath.  “Your dad…  Your dad says that he loves you, and that he knows you don’t hate him.  You were four, and just mad at your father,” he explained.

Derek sniffed back, whimpering as he buried his head into the couch.

“He says he’s proud of you and the man you’re becoming.  We talked about Scott and Isaac, and he’s so proud of you bringing me and Jackson into the pack.  He’s even prouder that you became an Alpha so young.  Kyle never stopped talking about you,” Stiles explained, patting Derek’s front paw.  “Papa Kyle also says that he’s happy with who your mate is, and to listen to your Uncle Peter.  Be happy, that’s all he wants you to be.  He doesn’t care that you’re gay.  Oh, but he does say that if you try and be all depressed like you were as a kid, he’s going to kick your ass and chuck you into the pond again with a cement block,” Stiles said, laughing at the mental image.

Derek flashed a wolfy smile.  THAT sounded like his dad, always joking about the “cement block” training.  Stiles wasn’t BSing.

“Hey…  So uh…  I sort of maybe heard something before you nearly murdered my dad.  Why don’t you shift into human and…  Tell me?” Stiles replied sheepishly.  

Groaning, Derek covered himself in a blanket from the couch, blushing as returned to his human self.  “Stilesyouremymate,” he blabbered out in an incomprehensible sentence.

Stiles grinned.  “I know,” he answered, leaning into Derek’s side.  “Derek…  For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been hanging out with Lydia and her mother.  I was freaking out because I liked girls, obviously, but then I also found myself with a ridiculously hot crush on you.  I didn’t get it at first.  You were my best friend, and I like…  Totally wanted to kiss you.  Heck, even when I was little, I felt AWFUL when I didn’t get to stay the night with you,” he explained quietly.  

“So…  You’re okay with this?” Derek asked.

Nodding, Stiles took Derek’s hand and squeezed.  “Yeah.  I want to be your mate too.  I mean, we’re best friends, so..  Why not be in love too? “ he said, smiling.  “I love you Derek,” he said weakly, blushing.  

Derek blushed, holding onto Stiles’ hand tightly.  “So, um…  I’m supposed to give you like a big long speech like Scott gave Allison before I say those words too.  Is that okay?” he asked politely.

Nodding, Stiles adjusted his position on the couch, to where he was practically on Derek’s lap.

With a deep breath, Derek clutched Stiles’ hand tightly.  “You are my mate.  I have come to express my desire to court you under our race’s code of conduct.  Should at any time you wish to end the courting process, or reject me as your mate, it is your legal right to do so without fear of retribution.  Your legal rights will not be severed in any way, shape, or form.  Should you wish to proceed, you have a 24 hour window to think the prospect over before we require an answer,” he recited clinically.  

Stiles listened dutifully as the speech went on an on, mostly about his rights to reject Derek, and how to proceed if he feared for his life.  It was a lot of legal mumbo-jumbo.

The speech finally came to an end, and Derek took another deep breath.  He slid off the couch, and bent down on both knees, in a courting position.  

“Genim Stilinski.  Will you accept me as your mate?” Derek asked, shaking as he kept his eyes on the floor.

Stiles couldn’t really giggle right with his deeper voice, but tried anyway with a beaming smiles.

“YES!” he exclaimed, hopping off the couch and hugging Derek’s neck as tightly as he could manage.

Derek felt his heart explode, as blood rushed through every inch of his body, making him feel WHOLE for the first time in his life.

Stiles laughed.  “But don’t ever call me Genim ever again,” he said, as threatening as he could manage.

"I love you Stiles," Derek said quietly.

 

+

 

Derek had read the courting book frontwards and backwards.  Just a twenty page book, the massive text had been lined out in fifteen steps that Derek had written out on notebooks paper he'd keep in his pocket forever.

  1. Initiate Courting ; Earn Mate’s Acceptance (x)

  2. Family Dinner

  3. Pack meeting & approval

  4. Scenting

  5. First Kiss

  6. Public Declaration

  7. Clothes Swapping

  8. Chaperoned Dating

  9. Non-Chaperoned Dating

  10. Private Time Away from Pack

  11. Marking

  12. Pre-Engagement Declaration

  13. Parental & Pack Engagement Approval

  14. Engagement

  15. Mating & Marriage




 

The list seemed long, but would be spread out over the next three years.  By the time he was sixteen, he’d be engaged to Stiles and could legally wed with John’s blessing.  He didn’t figure they’d get married until later in life, but the first 14 steps could at least be done by the time they graduated high school.

Looking back into his bedroom mirror, Derek sighed.  He was in his nicest red button-up shirt and black jeans.  He’d cut his hair and gotten as dressed up as he could stand.  Tonight would be the family’s first gathering.  Not technically, since the Silinskis might as well have been part of the Hale family, but would be the first time that they’d be meeting as two families that would soon become one.

“You look nice,” Talia whispered.

Derek turned around, and met his mother’s gaze.  She was in her chic black dress, the same ones she wore for Scott’s first mating dinner.  It was the nicest item of clothing she owned, and even decked out the family pearls.

Moving inside, Talia stood by Derek’s side.  She adjusted his collar, straightening it out.  “You look as handsome as your father when he was your age.  Some days I just stare at your face and swear he’s back with us,” she whispered.

Derek smiled.  “Thanks,” he replied, letting his mother then try to de-wrinkle the cloth on his shoulders.  

Taking a deep breath, Talia kissed the back of Derek’s head.  “Sweetie, I’m going to give you the same speech I gave Scott before he had his first dinner.  It’s not long, but it’s important.  Your father SHOULD have given this speech, but… Well, here goes,” she said, sighing.

Derek nodded.

“Your mate is your other half.  Without them, you’re nothing.  With them, you’re everything.  Treat them as you would treat yourself, and know that they are the single most important person in this world to you.  If you make them suffer, you will suffer alongside them.  If you make them happy, you will know a happiness alongside them.  The two of you are linked by a thread of fate, and nothing can ever separate it, even death.  You will be mated for life.  No other man will ever interest you the way your mate will, and you’ll never feel the same emotional tie,” Talia said, in a clearly practiced speech.  She spun Derek around, hugging him tightly.  “Be happy, be healthy, and live a life worth living.  I’m proud of you Derek, and can’t wait to see how you grow up,” she said happily.

For once, Derek hugged her back.  “Thanks…  Mom,” he replied quietly.

Thier bonding was interrupted as a loud knock echoed on Derek’s door.  Scott peeked in, grinning.  “Hey, mom, can I have Derek for a bit?” he asked.

Talia nodded.  “Absolutely.  I should go grab some wine from the cellar.  Don’t take too long, we need to set the table before the Stilinski get here,” she said, wiping some tears as she spun around and left Derek and Scott to their own devices.

“So…  Stiles, huh?” Scott asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.  

Derek nodded.  None of his pack had really talked about the revelation.  

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.  I wanted to start courting Stiles the second I came out, but I…  I wanted to tell him first before I told any of you,” Derek mumbled.

Scott shook his head.  “No, not that.  I get that,” he said, moving to Derek’s side.  “You know Stiles is like my brother, right?  I love him just as much as I love you.  So it goes without saying this, but…  Please don’t ever make him suffer.  I’ve already lost one family because of an asshole, I don’t want to lose another one.  So…  Treat him good, okay?” he begged, shooting his eyes downcast.

Derek shot his arm around Scott and pulled him into a side hug.  “Nothing is ever going to separate our pack.  Stiles is going to never want for anything  He’s the love of my life, and I’d never hurt him, just like you’d never hurt Allison.  Okay?” he asked.

Satisfied, Scott nodded.  “Yeah.  DAMN, you realize this is going to actually make all of us brothers now!?  When you marry Stiles, we’ll all be related!” he said, walking arm and arm with his brother.

 

+

 

The Silinskis were about ten minutes late to the dinner party.  As they walked in, it was pretty obvious why.

John had pulled out his old suit, which barely fit over his growing body’s “extra pounds”.  He was still fiddling with the tie, having to have it tied by Jackson.  His belt looked as though it were going to pop off his body at any moment.

Then there was Jackson himself.  Unlike John’s formal suit, Jackson was in a blazer and warm blue button-up.  Even dressed down lower than John, he exuded an air of formality that made him look nicer than anyone else in the house.  

Dressing must have been a nightmare for John, with Jackson at the reigns.  Derek was surprised they weren't half an hour or more late.

Then his mate walked through the door.

Stiles, much like Derek, was dressed casually.  He was in a warm red hoodie that covered a rainbow checkered button-up.  He had on a pair of olive green pants.  Everything was filled out better with his new body, and he could tell Stiles finally had some muscle tone  If he went to the gym with Derek, he could definitely make the lacrosse team in high school, probably even make first string with the rest of them.  Though he still needed to eat.  He needed protein.  Derek held back the urge to take him out for three hundred burgers.

Stiles didn’t waste any time grabbing Derek’s hand and squeezing it tightly as he entered the home.  They didn’t kiss or hug, since it was against the courting process.  Werewolf culture demanded that a proper amount of respect be given to both parties.  That included the parents and pack.  

“Hey…  Feeling better?” Derek asked.  

Stiles nodded.  “Yeah.  Went jogging for a couple of hours and burned the extra energy.  Dad made me a solid breakfast.  Feels weird, I’m like…  Wanting to work out and stuff.  Heh, mom said to expect that,” he explained.

Scott broke up their line of conversation.  Isaac was beside him, and they both had knelt down beside Derek, holding their hands out as an offering to shake it.  

“Alpha Mate Genim, we are the Betas of Pack Hale.  We offer our respect to you as our Alpha’s submissives.  Our lives are your lives,” Scott said, in a rather formal manner.

Stiles blinked a few times curiously.  

Derek leaned over to Stiles’ ear.  “Part of the courting process when the Alpha brings his mate home.  Pack Betas of the Alpha’s family will be taking orders from the Alpha mate in the future, and are offering their respect.  Shake their hands and thank them,” he explained.

Doing as he was told, Stiles shook Isaac and Scott’s hands, then thanking them verbally.

Talia was the next to meet them, kissing both sides of Stiles’ cheeks.  “Welcome to our home, Stiles.  Tonight will be a little different than our usual dinner nights.  There’s a lot of formality to be exchanged.  Trust me, things will be normal again soon,” she explained, pulling him into a tight hug.

Derek felt his heart flip.  His mother was hugging his mate, kissing his mate as she had kissed Allison.  There wasn’t any disdain for a single minute.  

An arm slapped Derek’s shoulder.  He turned around and met John’s face.  “Son, thanks for doing all this.  Stiles has been on cloud 9 while he recovered,” he whispered quietly in Derek’s ear.

Derek turned to Stiles, who was already getting hugs and peppered with a million questions from Isaac and Scott.  Nothing had changed, but his Betas had a newfound instinct.  Stiles was his mate, and therefore the pack’s most precious commodity.  They’d be watching over Stiles as much as they watched over their Alpha.  Knowing his brothers were his mate’s guardians left a solid feeling of peace and safety in his heart.

The front door opened again, without knocking.  Peter stepped through, holding several boxes in his hands.  He smelled the air and sighed in peace.  “This is remarkable.  Night and day difference in the air,” he said, hugging John as he walked in, and immediately kneeling before Stiles.  He took the wisps’ hand and kissed it.  “As Derek’s Uncle, I welcome you to the clan Hale.  I swear that with you as my nephew’s mate, that I will do everything in my power to protect and provide for you and your future family.  As the left hand of the Hale family, anything you need, I will provide,” he said kindly.

Stiles smiled.  “Thanks Peter-”

Peter immediately shook his head.  “That’s Uncle Peter.  You’re family.  Nobody but Talia calls me Peter, and that’s because she hates me,” he replied with a gentle chuckle.  

Standing back up, Peter took the two smaller boxes and handed one to Stiles and Derek.  “A gift, from Kyle, Derek’s father.  He asked me to watch after them until his son had found his mate,” he offered warmly.

Derek hitched his breath.  He glanced down at the box and could smell his father’s scent.  

Stiles was the first to open the cardboard box, retrieving a black leather box.  Popping it open, he revealed solid silver engagement ring.  Intricate wolf artwork had been inscribed on it, an image of a howling wolf on each side.

Seeing the gift, Derek immediately tore into his own black box.  He pulled out a near identical engagement ring, but was a deep gold instead of silver.  The howling wolf on his was instead a sleeping wolf, curled up next to cubs.

“Your father hand-crafted those before you were even born.  The gold ring will be Stiles’ wedding ring that you give to him on your engagement day.  The silver ring will be yours.  Guard them with your lives, they are a one of a kind object that your father spent years creating.  Should we need to adjust the size, I have a expert jeweler that will do so,” Peter explained.

Derek didn’t even bother waiting.  He slipped his gold ring on his left hand, where it was far too tight for his finger.  A necklace like his father’s ring was on would need to be used.  It wasn’t his ring, so getting it resized would be awful.

Glancing over to Stiles’ side, he could see his mate slipping the larger silver ring.  It dwarfed Stiles’ hand, not even remotely fitting.  Then again, it was Derek’s ring, it probably wasn’t meant to fit.  

“They’re gorgeous!  I’ll find you a necklace Stiles, think of it as my Courting gift to you,” Talia said, squealing over Stiles’ ring.  

Derek chuckled, watching Stiles already bonding with his mother and pack.  

 

+

 

Dinner was far more formal than they usually were.  Stiles and Derek were at the head of the table and eating from the same plate.  Talia and John were right next to them on either side, and Scott acted as the pack’s second, sitting right next to Talia.  

Derek wasn’t fond of the formality, but Stiles seemed pretty intrigued by it.  Not that they could do much about it.  Werewolf courting was practically the core of their culture and was always the topic of many cross-culture studies.

Melissa stood up towards the end of the meal, moving towards the fridge.  “Well, I’ve got a chocolate cheesecake from Monty’s for dessert!  Shall we take that and the wine in the living room?” she asked.

John nodded.  “YES.  Can I please take off the monkey suit?” he asked, glancing to Jackson.

Jackson glared angrily, but Talia just laughed.  “The formal dinner is over, everything can go back to normal.  Derek will have a pack meeting later with his Betas to confirm or deny Stiles as mate material.  Though I think it’s mostly a formality,” she said, smiling in Isaac and Scott’s direction.

Isaac didn’t even bother to nod.  “Stiles has my approval.  Without a doubt,” he explained.

Scott gave Stiles a thumbs up.  “Yeah, he’s okay.  I guess,” he said winking playfully.

Clearing her throat, Talia then turned to John.  “Are you fine with Stiles and Derek courting?  As the father, we respect your wishes as much as your sons,” she asked.

He took a few moments, but John finally nodded.  “All I ask is that Derek gets my blessing once more before he asks Stiles to get married.  Not that I don’t trust my son’s own judgement, but if they’re too young, I don’t want married life to interfere in their education or life,” he explained.

Talia chuckled.  “John, I don’t mean to argue, but the Hale family has a trust in place for both Derek and Derek’s mate.  We come from old money and continue to invest wisely.  When they turn of age at 18, they’ll inherit it,” she explained.

“We’ll what?” Derek asked, turning to his mother curiously.

Nodding, Talia poured herself another cup of coffee from the table.  “I suppose you’re all old enough to know it now.  As an Alpha, he’ll need to build a house for his pack and provide for them.  I don’t expect him to work a taxing job and also be a good Alpha.  So the Hale Family will be providing him with 25 million dollars, and an additional 25 million for his mate.  This will give him plenty of time to find a job he enjoys, and still be effective as an Alpha.  Not to mention the two year Alpha program he’ll be doing once he’s out of high school before he can go to college, if he wants to go to college.  Peter handles the family finances, so I’m not sure who he’ll train to take over our investment programs,” she explained casually.

Melissa dropped the chocolate cheesecake.

Scott and Isaac had gaping mouths.

John and Stiles both turned to each other in abject horror.

Derek blinked, trying to wrap his head around those figures.


	8. Chapter 8

  1. _Scenting_




Within the first weeks after the pack’s formal dinner with Stiles and Derek, energy in the two homes were at an all time high.  

Scott and Isaac had a high of energy as the pack betas.  They hovered over Stiles like a newborn puppy, never letting him far out of sight.  

Jackson was oddly supportive, and helped Stiles “escape” from his guard betas, for some “mental health time”.

Even the parents on all sides were excited about the second set of courting mates in the households.  John was brilliantly happy that his son would have such a strong protector in his life, even more so than himself.  Talia was eager for her son’s happiness, and the potential for adopted pups.  Peter and Melissa were the most eager, secretly poking Talia and John on the sidelines to advance forward on the courting steps.

While the energy was high, and the families remarkably happy, Stiles wasn’t fond of the courting process in general.  He and Derek couldn’t be alone together, couldn’t date like normal teenagers, and had remarkable hurdles to get over before they could even KISS.

Though he didn’t complain.  As much as he hated the changes, other things changed for the better.

When he was allowed to be with Derek, the love flowed naturally.  His mate was happy, and would never leave his side when they were together.  Couch cuddles were much more meaningful.  Holding hands was like getting to third base and felt like there were sparks flying between them.

Most importantly?

Derek was a new person.  

He wasn’t scowly McSourWolf anymore.  There weren’t any secrets being held back.  His family knew everything.  Stiles knew everything.  

He could be Derek, at last.

Stiles watched his mate carefully.  They were sitting on the bed in his own bedroom, admiring how Derek seemed to blush at their rare moment of privacy.  Normally, John would be supervising them.  Except that Stiles really didn’t want his dad to see what was happening next, and John had reluctantly agreed.  The first step of actual courting between him and Derek that didn’t involve their parents.  

Derek cleared his throat, ending Stiles’ momentary imaginings.

“I uh…  I want to scent you, like I said on the phone,” he whispered.

“We’ve scented before.  Haven’t we?” Stiles asked, clearly confused.

Derek shook his head.  “No..  Not mate scenting.  Anything we’ve ever done before was just generic pack scenting.  It’s a way that shows…  Uh…  Don’t get freaked out, please, but…  It shows that you’re mine,” he answered.

“Yours?!” Stiles echoed

Blushing, Derek cleared his throat.  “I means that other werewolves wouldnt…   You know, try to…  Make advances?” he said, chuckling nervously.

“So basically, you’re going to make me smell like I’m taken,” Stiles said, folding his arms.  

“Yeah,” Derek replied.

There was a moment of awkwardness between them.  At least, until Stiles put his hand on Derek’s knee and squeezed.

“How do we do it?” Stiles asked.

Gulping, Derek tried to look away.  “You would, um…  Take off your shirt.   I’d kiss your chest, neck, and stomach.  I’d rub my face on you, until you smelled like me,” he answered.

“Why my chest?” Stiles asked.

“It’s where your heart is.  The skin on your frontside is thinner and overall closer to your blood and organs.  I guess I could do the back?  It just wouldn’t be very potent, and I’d probably have to do it again on the front anyway,” Derek answered.

Stiles laughed momentarily.  “Now I wish I’d listened to Scott when he was blabbering over Allison!” he exclaimed.

Moving to the buttons on his shirt, Stiles unbuttoned them one by one.  He carefully chucked off his overshirt to the dirty laundry, and then followed up by pulling off his undershirt, laying it just to the side.  

Derek hitched his breath.

Stiles’ bare chest was mildly tanned.  The two of them had worked out on a jog outside every day since the dinner, and Stiles had already managed to get a little more toning.  While Stiles wasn’t embarrassed, he was mildly flushed.  

“I’m um…  I’m going to scent you.  Tell me if you…  You know, want me to stop,” Derek said, finally shaking himself back to the real world and out of the Stilesnakedonthetop hypnosis.  

Stils laid down on the bed, while Derek crawled over to him.

Like a mother kissing their child, Derek pressed chaste kisses into Stiles’ chest, covering every inch in quick succession.  He moved south, covering the navel area and not going any lower than Stiles’ belly button.  Finally, he climbed up Stiles’ body and peppered kisses all over his neck, and ending as he hovered over Stiles’ collarbone.

“I uh…  I need to leave a hickey here.  Is that okay?” Derek asked quietly.

Stiles’ blood was pumping wildly, and he managed to nod in agreement.

Opening his mouth up, Derek sucked into Stiles’ neck.  The moment lasted for what seemed like hours, as Derek’s lips and tongue swirled over his mark.  Finally, Derek let up and hovered inches away from Stiles’ face.  

“I’m going to rub over you,” Derek said, panting out of breath.  

Stiles pulled him closer, letting Derek’s face nuzzle around his shoulder blades and neck.  He crammed his nose near the carotid artery, took a deep breath and then immediately clambered off stiles.  He stood up, noticeably flushed and stood next to the door.

“I’m uh…  I’m done now.  Sorry if it made you, uh…  Uncomfortable,” he stammered out.

Leaning up for the bed, Stiles immediately threw his undershirt back on.  The hickey Derek had left on this shoulder blade was prominently displayed just outside of his shirt’s collar.  

“Don’t be sorry.  I mean, sure that was a little weird, but…  It felt good!” Stiles remarked, standing up and immediately rushing to Derek’s side.  He took his mate’s hand and clenched it tightly.  “But we better get back downstairs before my dad comes up with a bucket of ice water,” he said jokingly.

Warmth spread between their hands, and Derek’s face calmed down from embarrassment.

 _“These are going to be the longest years of my life_ ” Derek thought to himself.

  
  


  1. First Kiss




 

Courting came to the back of both Stiles and Derek’s heads.  After finishing the eighth grade, both of them were immediately pushed with Scott, Jackson and Isaac into “Hell Month”.  As soon to be high school freshmen, they all had to work under the critical eye of Coach Finstock if they even hoped to be remotely considered on the school lacrosse team.  Their summer BELONGED to lacrosse.

Each day was a two-three mile run, countless drills, running up and down the bleachers, weight training, and just about every workout imaginable.  

Their summer vacation was over in a flash.  Half of June and the last half of July were GONE, leaving only August to commemorate the end of hell month.  

When it was all said and done, the four of them had made second string.  Which was remarkable in and of itself, considering that half the freshmen were kicked out or banished to the non-playing third string.  Finstock had even promised Derek some serious playing time.

Though after their last practice before the school year, with the rest of the team inside Papa John’s Pizza, there was a definite difference in attitudes.

Isaac, Derek and Scott were downing their third large pizza together on their side of the booth with excited discussions over their start to high school life, while Jackson and Stiles laid on each other, groaning in unison on the other side.

“What’s wrong with you two?” Scott asked, slamming another slice of meat lover’s into his mouth.

Jackson and Stiles exchanged a similar look of deep-seated hatred, and then promptly shut their eyes, sighing.

“Not EVERYONE has your freaky wolf stamina.  We pathetic human-like creatures actually have LIMITS.  Limits that Finstock might as well have thrown off a cliff and into jagged spikes below,” Jackson spat.

Stiles nodded.  “I can’t even MOVE.  I think I’m dying.  Derek, I order you to murder Finstock if I die.  Not even kidding.  Nope, total murder, do you understand me?” he begged.

Derek rolled his eyes.  “Yes Stiles, I will murder our coach.  Because that’s the rational thing to do after a strength-building workout.  Which, by the way, is helping BOTH of you,” he answered, admiring the muscles on Stiles’ exposed arms.  

While he wasn’t at their level, even compared to Isaac, he was definitely stronger than any human.  Jackson was about the same lean size, but lost what little body fat he had and replaced it with solid muscle.  It wouldn’t be long before they could probably both keep up on full moon runs.  

Overexaggerating for dramatic effect, Stiles pretended to struggle picking up his glass of water and taking a long drink of it.  “Please don’t be joking.  I need to hear I’m turning into a muscle hunk.  I'm sick of being a bean pole.  Otherwise, I might plot the poisoning and downfall of Finstock,” he said, sighing painfully.

Derek smiled.  “You’re making good progress.  Hell, in a year or so, you’ll be as big as Isaac and Scott.  You’ll be the biggest hunkiest muscle hunk ever,” he replied playfully.

“Oh my god, please DO not be flirting. I do not need to picture you two making out,” Scott exclaimed, covering his ears.

Isaac shot Scott a glare of death.  “Scott we hear EVERYTHING about you and Allison.  I’m pretty sure you have even followed me to the BATHROOM and kept talking to me outside the door while I was taking a shit, telling me all about how Allison has that one-”

Scott covered Isaac’s mouth with a panicked look.  “Ha ha!  So funny Isaac, come on, lets get everyone some refills!” he exclaimed, pulling Isaac out of the booth and grabbing up the table’s glass cups.  

Jackson grumbled.  “I’m starving.  I think I’m going to walk over to the strip club and stand outside the door for secondhand sex energy.  Be back in ten minutes,” he said, struggling to get to his feet and limp dramatically to the front door.

Left to their own devices, Derek moved out of his side of the booth and scooched over to his mate.  He let Stiles lean on him.  At a close proximity, Derek could feel Stiles’ soreness.  He really was tired.

“Hey…  We’ve got like another month till school starts.  I know Finstock wanted us to hit the gym in our spare time, but…  How about you and I just do some jogging around our trail?  I can smell your muscles aching,” Derek said.  

Stiles pouted.  “I’m not a baby,” he spat back.

Derek shook his head.  “No, you’re not.  But you’re also a wisp, and have human features.  You’re tired and just went through hell month for sports training.  It’s okay to step back and try to recover.  You’ll probably get some play time, and we need you at 100%,” he said, putting his arm around Stiles and hugging him tightly.  “I’m not babying you.  I’m being realistic.  You need to relax and recover.  Like you guys said, you don’t have werewolf stamina,” he explained.

Whispering some mild profanities, Stiles leaned on Derek’s chest.  “Fine.  We jog.  But I’ve got a secret I need to tell you,” he said.  

Derek leaned down his head ot Stiles’s face.  

Leaning up, Stiles pressed his lips on Derek’s, kissing for all of ten seconds before he let up.

“I actually love you like crazy, Mr. Asshole Hunk McMuscle Douchebag,” he said quietly.  

They were silent for all of ten seconds before Derek pressed another deep kiss into Stiles’ lips.  “I love you too, Mr. Loudmouth Future Hunk McSmartypants,” Derek said, hugging his mate tightly.

A truly personal moment, up until Isaac and Scott began fake dry-heaving behind them, or the rest of the sports team started making wild hoots in the background.

  
  


  1. Public Declaration




  
  


Derek turned 16 in September of their Sophomore year.  Unlike most years, he’d opted for a public birthday party.  By “opted”, that naturally meant “forced”.

Sixteen was the biggest year for any werewolf.  They would be, for legal and pack purposes, considered an adult.  Their bodies had the same hormonal and physical attributes of an 18 year old human, and their mental maturity would be finalized.  

The long story short?  Derek would never be considered a “pup” again.

Thankfully, the party wasn’t all that “big”.  Talia and Melissa weren’t all that evil, and made it more like a buffet-style dinner, with a lot of tables in the back yard, and a cake they hadn’t made him sing or blow out candles for.  No presents, thank god.

The lacrosse team all showed up, alongside several of the local packs and the parents of a few classmates.  In fact, several Hale allies had come from across state lines.

Derek was shaking.  All in all, there was probably around a hundred people at the party.

 _“You had to pick TODAY.  Dumbass, I am going to drown you for picking TODAY,”_ Derek thought to himself, watching as his guests mingled and stuffed themselves.

Taking a long drink of his soda, Derek crushed the can in his hand and slammed it on the nearest table.  

His nerves were flaring, at least until he felt his mate’s hand slide in his.

“Derek, you don’t have to do this today.  We can do something at a smaller venue,” Stiles offered.

Immediately, Derek shook his head.  “No…  No I’m doing it today.  I’ve waited a year out of respect for Scott and Allison’s pre-engagement, but I’m not waiting any longer,” he announced.

Just around the time Derek had planned ot publicly declare Stiles as his mate, Scott and Allison dropped the bomb.  Scott had asked for the pack, Derek’s, and their parents permission to be pre-engaged.  It would be the final step before marriage, and all pareties had accepted the announcement.  

Scott and Allison hadn’t even set a date, saying they were going to graduate high school and possibly even college before tying the knot.  (Both figuratively and metaphorically).

Derek and Stiles had already agreed to let Scott and Allison have a year of celebration before they’d have their public declaration.  A painful year of waiting, but the proper thing to do as a matter of respect.

Stepping forward, Derek made his way to the back porch of their house.  Standing above everyone, he and Stiles both stared to the crowd of guests.  

Derek whistled between his two fingers, getting the crowd’s attention.  

The family and half the lacrosse team knew what was coming, all beaming at the scene that would soon be unfolding.

Derek took a deep breath.  “Thanks, everyone, for coming.  I’ve got an important announcement to make, and I hope I can have your attention for it,” he bellowed, speaking loudly enough for everyone to hear.

A lot of nods and signals of affirmation followed.

 _“Deep breath.  Just say it, and get it over with,”_ Derek thought, as his inner panic over public speaking and large social groups attacked his heart.  

“I’m here to publicly declare my affection for Stiles Stilinkski, and announce that we are mates, and I intend to court him until we marry.  I will protect him until the day I die, and love him with all of my heart and soul.  In the coming years, we will date as per his approval, and be engaged when the time is right,” Derek announced loudly and proudly.  Stiles didn’t let go of his hand for the entire duration and smiled affectionately.

They were met with a mixture of responses.

Naturally, the lacrosse team and the Hale family members applauded loudly, several of Derek’s teammates even whistling in their direction.  Scott and Allison were both sobbing, hugging each other and kissing tightly.  Talia and John raised their glasses, clinking them as they toasted the new couple.  Peter, off in the corner, had a rare smile on his face, and mouthed “congratulations” in Derek’s direction.

Others, unfortunately, were not as pleased.

Several of the packs got up and left.  They weren’t even subtle about their disgust and horror, spitting at Derek’s direction.  Some even growled.  These were the local packs, not directly affiliated with the Hales.  The Hale ally packed shared looks of confusion, only mildly clapping as they began to speak in hushed tone.  Homosexual werewolves, like Derek had learned after researching Stiles' notes, were not widely accepted in the werewolf community.  He'd expected some backlash.

The few humans, vampires and other supernatural creatures shared disgust.  Apparently, the world’s distaste for same-sex partners was even worse when the same-sex partners were interspecies.

Derek could feel the tension.  His family and sports team were on the verge of beating the shit out of the packs.  Mostly the lacrosse team, pissed that one of their own were being targeted.  There was no gay or straight in lacrosse.  There were only "survivors of Finstock's Hell Month".

Shit was about to explode.

At least, until he let go of Stiles’ hand and moved forward.

“I don’t fucking care about you assholes, just so you know!  If you’re going to be that way, I don’t want you in my family or associated with my family!  Consider yourself DEAD to the Hales!” Derek shouted.

They all stopped.

Even the Hale family allies turned to Derek out of fear.

“I told all of you this for ONE reason, and one reason only,” Derek said, pushing a table out of his way and letting his Alpha eyes blaze over them.  “You fuck with my MATE, or make him cry, or make him suffer, or even JOKE about him in any way, I will rip you and your family to SHREDS.  I’m not scared of any of you.  Insult on me all you want.  Just don’t fuck with my pack or my mate, you GOT THAT?!” he screeched at the end.  “I AM THE GODDAMN ALPHA OF THE HALE PACK, AND I’M PUTTING A FUCKING END TO THIS BULLSHIT TREATMENT, AND I'M NOT ALONE!” he screamed, roaring loudly at the end.

The lacrosse team rooted in his support, while Scott, Isaac and Jackson moved to his side in a moment of pack support.  Scott growled, quickly roaring alongside his Alpha.

The disgust on the packs’ faces and the judgement on the humans all turned into the same grim glare of fear.  Derek’s face bellowed full Alpha power, and crumbled some of the younger ones to their knees.

The Hale allies made a hasty retreat, bowing to Derek as they fled.  Packs weren’t much better, running away with their tails between their legs.  The humans and supernatural creatures screeched off in their vehicles.  

The silence was deafening.

“Okay, the party poopers are gone!  Now we can REALLY have fun!  DANNY, get the football, first string versus second string!” Stiles shouted from the front porch.

Derek felt it.  Stiles’ emotional bending that stretched over the landscape.  He sucked away the awkwardness and fear, replacing it with joy and a desire to have fun.  Within a few minutes, the lacrosse team and most of the Hale-Stilinksi families were lining up to pick teams.  

Peter moved over to Derek, and put his arm on Derek’s shoulder.  

“That is how you declare your mate simultaneously gain the respect and admiration as an Alpha all in one ,” he whispered proudly.

Talia soon joined him, pecking a kiss on his cheek.  “Your father would be proud,” she whispered.

 

  1. Clothes Swapping




  
  


The Declaration had gone over quite well.  

The packs that had originally been disgusted at the party, slowly came to realize how strong Derek was.  He became the star of the lacrosse team in the middle of his Sophomore year, earning the city-wide respect of his sports techiquie.  It became even more prevalent as his pack betas, Isaac and Scott, became first string celebrity “twins”, who were capable of crazy combinations.  The final straw hit with the human members of his pack.  Both Stiles and Jackson hit the first string after repeated star-level performance.  Everyone acknowledged his leadership, and insults became to a bare minimum.  All of it was replaced with slaps on the shoulder and “great game last Friday Hale” in the public.

Many Hale allies called within the next couple of days, informing Talia that their support would not waver in the slightest, apologizing for ever questioning the new Hale Alpha’s choice in a mate.  A few even sent courting gifts to him and Stiles, ranging from thousand dollar gems all the way to homemade fur blankets.  Many of them offered up their pack Omegas to Derek, as a tie of friendship.  (Derek denied them, explaining that pack expansion wouldn’t happen until after he’d graduated high school)

School had been a challenge.  Many people would come up to confirm about Derek’s homosexuality, as if his Declaration had been a joke..  

_“You don’t look gay!”_

_“Is this a phase?”_

_“You could have any girl you wanted!”_

Derek tried to not be offended.  They just didn’t understand, and he politely corrected them.

_“Anyone can be gay.”_

_“The same as your heterosexuality is a phase”_

_“Don’t want them, vaginas terrify me, Lydia Martin showed me charts.”_

Thankfully, within the month, most of the “drama” was gone.  People accepted him and Stiles, and the local packs would come to visit them.  The Hale family had gotten three new allied packs in the span of six months.

It was after one such pack ally meeting that Stiles and Derek found themselves walking on the busy streets.  Winter had come early to Beacon Hills, hitting hard in October.

Shivering, Derek mentally swore at his mate’s choice in winter wear.  Stiles always picked thin hoodies, thanks to his wisp emotions of joy constantly keeping him warm.  He wondered if Stiles ever realized that he was a portable source of heat, which is why he always kept Stiles close to his side in winters.

Derek pulled at Stiles’ bright red hoodie for the fourtieth time since they’d left the meeting.  It had no hope of fitting properly, but covered and defined his muscles in a new way.  A lot of people complimented Derek on his “new wardrobe”, not knowing that he and Stiles’ clothes swapping was just another part of the courting process.  Their scents would comingle over the next several months, until eventually their natural scent would be “Derek and Stiles” and not just one of theirs.  

Glancing over at his mate, Derek took a deep breath.

Stiles was dwarfed in Derek’s leather jacket.  He’d gotten a new one for his birthday, one that had belonged to his father, custom tailored to fit him.  Apparently, he was about a size bigger than his father was at that age.  He’d cherished it for all of ten minutes before he realized how much more he’d love it being on Stiles.  

In a way, it was like the Hale family was protecting his mate.  

His father had bought it, using it as a way to make the cold go away, not protecting Stiles from the cold.

His mother had tailored it with Melissa, fitting it so that it had the current Hale family’s love and care.  

Peter had spent the better part of an hour, oiling the jacket and cleaning it to a proper state.

Now Stiles was wearing that.  He was wearing the pack’s jacket, being protected with it.  Just like what he’d be experiencing in a few years full time.

“What are you staring at?!” Stiles shouted.

Derek jumped out of his skin, realizing he’d been a creepy stalker the last couple of minutes.  Chuckling, Derek shook his head.  “Sorry, just…  Just love the way you look,” he whispered, pressing a gentle kiss into his mate’s forehead.

Stiles rolled his eyes.  “Tell you what..  How about you love the way I look and picture that while you yell at your creepy-ass Uncle for all the chaperoning he does!  We’re sixteen!  How come we still need a guardian?!” he spat.

Groaning, Derek kissed Stiles on the cheek.  “You know the rules.  A year of chaperoned dating.  We’re almost done, and if you want to complain about it, then how about you complain to your dad!  My mom was fine with six months, but NOOOO your dad had to be Mr. Asshole!” he exclaimed.

Stiles growled, trying to mimic Derek, but failing.


	9. Chapter 9

  1. Chaperoned Dating




 

Normal teenage dating should be awkward.  That would be an obvious fact of life, like being embarrassed by parents or fighting with your brothers and sisters.  

Smooching and learning how to be intimate?  Legitimate awkwardness.

Holding hands and getting caught out in a PDA by your folks?  Legitimate awkwardness.

Trying to watch a movie with your creepy-ass Uncle watching your every move in the seat right behind you and your boyfriend?

Non-legitimate awkwardness.

Stiles leaned on Derek, holding his hand tightly as they continued to ignore the movie, more interested in each other and being away from the pack.  Derek fed him popcorn, and Stiles giggled as Derek’s foot kept running up and down Stiles’ leg.

At least, until Peter cleared his throat loudly.  A completely-non-subtle move.  It was an immediate boner-killer.

Derek and Stiles stopped their flirting and turned back to the movie screen.  They both narrowed their faces, incredibly angry.

“We weren’t even DOING anything,” Stiles whispered in an angry rush.

“Doesn’t matter.  It’s his call what’s appropriate and inappropriate,” Derek responded, just as quietly.

Stiles rolled his eyes.  “We’re 16 Derek.  I can drive an automobile, which I STILL question to this day.  You’re legally an adult in werewolf law!  How can we not be trusted to DATE each other?” he spat.

“It’s tradition.  It’s supposed to be my respect to you and give you time to decide if you want to pursue a different life.  A life without me,” Derek replied, in a down, near crippling depressed tone.

“That’s never going to happen,” Stiles responded.

Derek felt his stomach flutter, and a smile cross his mouth.

"Seriously?  Dude, you're sixteen.  There are probably better looking-"

Stiles shut his mate up by fisting popcorn into his mouth en masse.  It was more than his mouth could probably hold, even by werewolf standards.

"Finish that sentence, oh love of my life, and I WILL shove this soda down your throat as well," Stiles threatened angrily.  

Peter laughed in the background.

+

The movie, and effectively their date, came to a screeching halt.  2 hour dating sittings were cruel, but it was as long as they had when not in the company of their peers.  Which was usually why they brought Isaac or Jackson along, but eventually found themselves annoyed being treated like a third wheel.

Derek and Stiles both pouted, as Peter led them to the front of the movie theatre.  He stood between them, not giving them any space together.

“Not a very good movie.  1/10,  at best,” Peter remarked.

Stiles sighed.  “Peter, we watched a cartoon.  I’m surprised if you didn’t give it a zero,” he replied angrily.

Peter chuckled.  “Then you’ve never seen Miyazaki, child,” he answered, shaking his head.  “Though…  I suppose child is the wrong way to look at you two.  After all, if Stiles had already decided he won’t spend a life away from you, he must have some sort of adult in him,” he offered quietly.

Stiles and Derek shot each other curious looks.

Peter cleared his throat, stepping out of the way between them.  “I’m going to get the car.  Though I feel as though I’ve forgotten where I parked.  Feel free to…  Take the next ten minutes to do as you please, though I ask you have…  Restraint..  I’d hate to come back and force you both into the cold lake by the home to…  Chill out?,” he said with a pleasing, smug grin.

Then, just like that, Stiles and Derek were all alone as Peter opened the theatre doors and into the dark night.

They both blinked rapidly at each other.

“Did we…  Did we seriously just get 10 minutes of private time?” Derek asked, smiling quietly to himself.

“Wanna make out?” Stiles asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Derek didn’t even bother to answer.

It took all of his willpower not to ravish Stiles in public, instead choosing to push Stiles into the alcove of the bathroom stall in the men’s room and locking the door behind them.  

Ten minutes.  Just ten minutes of privacy.

Derek growled at the thought, letting loose his fangs and immediately scraping them gently across Stiles’ neck.

“Oh..  Oh my god…  I am LITERALLY feeling your sexiness and desire to bone me.  Wisp powers for the goddamn WIN,” Stiles said, in an odd mixture of laughter and sheer arousal.

Derek sniffed where he’d traced Stiles’ neck.  Warm vanilla cooking in a pan.  

“Mine…” Derek said with a humorous quip, mouthing his lips over Stiles’ mouth and pressing the two of them into a smouldering kiss.  

Stiles rubbed his clothed chest and groin over Derek’s generating a painful friction on his zipper from the now-growing boner, put relished in the contact.  Derek was on FIRE.  He was always warmer than the average human, but right now HOT DAMN CALL THE FUCKING FIRE DEPARTMENT.

Coming up for air, Derek licked the sides of Stiles’ cheeks.

At least until Stiles grabbed him by the face.  “STAY FOCUSED.  MOUTH TIME.  NOW,” he demanded, pulling their lips back together.

Derek’s eyes blew out the second he felt Stiles’ tongue enter their mouth.  He moaned, feeling as Stiles took control.  It was an odd sensation, giving power to someone other than himself.  Yet, it felt right.  Something he could do with Stiles and Stiles only.

They stayed like that as long as they could stand it.  Stiles traveled up Derek’s sweater, relishing his muscles.  At the same time, Derek had wormed his hands into Stiles’ back and gently clawed at them, leaving small non-bleeding scratches wherever he went.

Their combined heat could have steamed up the windows in the bathroom.

At least, until Peter’s text message alert went off.

Both came up for air, panting wildly.  Derek pulled out his phone and groaned.

 

_Three minutes.  Don’t keep me waiting.  I was able to find the car.  I am such a forgetful person sometimes._

 

“We’ve uh..  We’ve got to go,” Derek said, throwing the phone back into his pocket and stealing one more kiss from Stiles’ lips.

Stiles was beaming as the held hands and exited the restroom.  “Holy shit…  That was…  That was AWESOME.  Oh my God, I seriously just made out with you.  FIRST FUCKING BASE!” he squealed delightfully.

Derek chuckled.  “I say we request Peter more often.  And buy him something nice.  He adores cheesecake,” he said, holding open the door for Stiles as they exited the theatre.

“Fuck that.  I’ll buy him the entire Cheesecake Factory if it means we get to do THAT again!” Stiles shouted.

  
  


  1. Non-Chaperoned Dating




 

A year of chaperoned dating.  Customs usually dictated that 6 months was all that was necessary, but naturally John and Talia had agreed on one year.  Actually JOHN had agreed on one year, and Talia didn’t argue the fact.  

John relished in the courting.  Something about how he’d seen too many “teenage romances” end in the toilet with no restrictions.  Being a cop’s son sucked a good 6 times out of ten.

Though it hadn’t been all that bad.

Derek thought he’d grow to hate Peter as their “guardian”, but instead would always thank his uncle for giving them a few minutes after each date for hardcore make out sessions.  Apparently ten minutes was long enough to have a good time, but not TOO good a time.  

Though their year was finally up.  They’d be going on their very first date

Derek had just turned 17.  Stiles would be 16 for a few more months, but it wasn’t all that important.

Dressed out in his best winter sweater, even grabbing a scarf that Stiles had bought just for him, Derek moved downstairs with all due haste.  The keys to his Camaro (the BEST present he’d ever gotten, courtesy of Peter), jingled in his jeans pocket.

“Where are you going?” Talia asked.

Groaning, Derek stopped at the front door.  “Mom, we’ve been OVER THIS,” he whined.

Talia crossed her legs, putting down the latest novel she’d been attacking since the weekend  “I know.  Humor a worried mother who knows how Alphas are on the first “free date” and can smell her son's desire to mate overwhelming his obviously overstenched cologne he thought would fool his mother,” he said snidely.

Derek took a deep breath. “I’m driving Stiles and myself to a bonfire party that Lydia Martin is hosting in the back lot of her paren’ts home.  We will meet our weekend curfew at 10:30 PM.  Stiles will stay the night with us and sleep in Isaac’s bedroom since his dad is pulling a double shift.  Scott has already agreed to keep tabs on me, and has Mountain Ash if I get out of hand,” he explained.

Talia nodded appreciatively.  Everything was as they’d confirmed.

“What are the things you may and may not do with your mate at this point?” Talia quckly asked.

Derek huffed.  This was NOT the sort of thing he wanted to talk to his mother about.

“We may hold hands, kiss, and be passionate with each other.  Any and all acts of a sexual nature are out of bounds.  No oral and no penetration,” he replied.

“What will happen if you break this rule?” Talia said, rather sternly.

Derek rolled his eyes.  “I will be required to have another year of chaperoned dating and we can not advance the courting process.  If the sexual act was unwarranted or resulted in a pregnancy, I could be forced with jail time or being murdered by Stiles’ dad,” he answer snarkily.

“Have fun,” Talia remarked, returning back to her book as she settled in for a warm evening at home.

 

-

 

The bonfire had been nice for all of ten minutes.  Lydia had marshmallows and sticks and all sorts of goodie treats to burn with fire, which Jackson and Scott were MORE than eager to do.

There was music, dancing, and plenty of teenage gossip and hanky panky going on.  Danny and Isaac were “on again” in their endless waves of “on again” “off again” relationships.  Even while they weren’t mates, they’d basically been dating like it.  

Though as far as first alone dates went, it was fairly boring with a woefully minimum amount of making out.  

So, with the subtlety of the local Scarlett Letters, Derek and Stiles had gone off into the forest on the Martin residence, earning several irritating hoots and hollers from the lacrosse team and their family.

Derek and Stiles made their way to the farthest edge of the forest that they could manage.  Just barely enough out of range that Scott and Isaac couldn’t hear them.

“We far enou-” Stiles asked, before being attacked by Derek’s lips and the two of them thudding against the ground.  Derek had taken the hit, settling for being on the bottom as he and Stiles got to it.

Derek was never very good at tonguing, but Stiles had made it an art form.  His lithe muscle skidded around Derek’s mouth, counting his teeth while simultaneously wrestling for the lightweight tongue wrestling championship.  

Though what Derek lacked in kissing skill, he more than made up for in other ways.  Like grinding his boner into the crease in Stiles’ groin, dry-humping him into oblivion.

“F...Fuck,” Stiles said, coming up for air.  

Derek grinned.  “I win this one,” he said snarkily, licking his lips and watching Stiles grind himself.  He’d gotten into a solid rhythm and the two were basically just one body writing together.

That is, until Derek felt his claws coming out.  His eyes flared, generating a small light on their spot.

His Alpha was trying to take over.

“We’ve got to stop,” Derek said, chuckling as he separated their gyrating jeans with the palm of his hand.

Stiles whined loudly, grasping under Derek’s shirt so he could touch the solid muscle.  

Derek slapped his hands away.  “Dude, I’m starting to wolf out.  Just need to chill for like…  A bit,” he answered.

He knew that Stiles knew.  If he wolfed out while intoxicated on arousal, there was no telling where he’d go.  He wasn’t about to lose his freedom.  They had JUST gotten it..  

Stiles nodded.  “Yeah, yeah…  Sorry, I didn’t mean to…  Grind your gears?” he offered playfully.

So instead of making out, Derek and Stiles lazed on the dirt beneath them.  He knew the back of his sweater was probably disgusting by this point, but he didn’t care.  Derek kept petting Stiles repeatedly, massaging his back.

“Hey Derek?  So…  Your mom was telling me that we get to go somewhere quiet together?  Just you and me to…  You know…  Uh…  Do the do?  Like, that’s the next step after dating unchaperoned in our Senior Year, right?” Stiles whispered quietly.

Derek smiled.  Privacy from Pack was one of the very final steps of courting, right before the engagement.  Officially, it was time to develop a relationship without pack interference.  Unofficially, it was the time where the two mates would have sex for the first time.  Non-knotting and non-mating sex, but still SEX.  Sex with his Stiles.  He’d been waiting years for it.

“Yeah.  There’s a couple places we could go, but it’s basically just up to you.  Hawaii is pretty popular since werewolves love the warmth, but since the one year anniversary of dating is in the middle of the school year, we’ll just have a weekend and MAYBE the Friday before if you can beg my mom hard enough,” Derek answered.  

Stiles was very quiet.

Quiet Stiles was not a good Stiles.

Quiet Stiles was a thinky Stiles, and that could only mean he was stressing about something.

Derek opened his eyes back up, glaring at his mate.  

Stiles was blushing wildly.  “So uh…  We have…  The sex thing?  That wasn’t just a uh…  That wasn’t a joke?!” he exclaimed.

Tilting his head, Derek pressed his lips into Stiles’.  “Yeah.  I mean, sexual compatibility is a thing, right?  Well, for wolves it is.  I guess it’s a little different for me, since I won’t be having sex to have cubs, but uh…  Yeah, sex will definitely be a thing in our lives.  Right?” he asked, really nervously.

He’d never even thought about it.  I mean, they’d done a lot of grinding and humping with their clothes on, but sex really hadn’t been a topic of conversation.  

“Not that I don’t want it!  Holy shit, I’ve been dreaming about the day l can get it, but…  DAMN, it’s really close.  And I’m like…  Gonna barely be 17,” he mumbled embarrassinglyly.

Derek smirked.  “Sex with a werewolf is a big deal.  It’s one of the very few times we let our guard down, and for some of us it’s a very…  Special moment,” he said happily.

“Are you so uh...I mean, are you one of….” Stiles tried to stammer out, only to be met with a pair of fangs nuzzling his neck.  

Derek would let Stiles’ wisp senses feel EXACTLY what he was feeling.

  
  


+

 

Dating on their own had been a step in the fun direction for both Stiles and Derek.  Endless making out for hours on end for about the first month, and serious grinding in the second month as Derek found his wolf more in control.  

Month three had been a “cooling” period, where the incessant raw passion seemed to fizzle out and make way for something more meaningful.  Instead of smooches and “kind of smexing”, romance won over.  Isaac thought it was adorable, watching Derek buy Stiles all kinds of silly things.  From books he’d heard Stiles liked, to flowers, and even a copy of the Hale house key.  Not that Stiles was much better, who seemed to (for whatever reason) buy Derek every kind of clothing item imaginable.  Scott accused Stiles of secretly trying to fuck their closet space over, because one day Scott found ALL of his clothes dumped on his own bed.  

It was after that day that Scott moved into his own room.  Because apparently Derek needed some of Stiles clothes in his room for “when he visited”, which meant that Scott had to lose his dresser and “useless comic books” and had been banished to a small corner in his room.

The rest of the months soon turned into a normalcy.  A mildly non-sexy normalcy that Jackson was always the FIRST to reassure the rest of the worried pack that what they mistook for disinterest was actually the truest love he’d ever felt.  Even adults, like his first parents, didn’t compare.  He likened it to two hearts becoming one.

A fact that Scott was insanely jealous of.  Considering that he and Allison were already engaged, they still had arguments and hadn’t even gotten to the “cutesy shit” yet, as Isaac called it.

By the time they’d both reached the final months of their private dating experience, the Winter Formal of their Senior Year had come among them, and the private vacation was just a few months away.  

Isaac, Danny, Scott and Allison were all waiting patiently downstairs.  The guys were in itchy suits and ties from the local rental store, while Allison had chosen a teal blue snowflake pattered dress.  

“OH MY GOD, WHO TAKES THIS LONG TO GET READY?” Scott grumbled angrily.  

Allison smirked.  “You try getting Derek inside of a suit, and do it in less than ten minutes.  I’d PAY to see that,” she said, planting a quiet kiss into her mate’s face.  

Danny and Isaac smirked, watching as Scott literally melted away his annoyance and was content to snuggle up to Allison warmly.

“Why can’t we have that?!  I can FEEL the love!” Danny asked, signaling at them.

Isaac’s face dropped.  “Because…  We’re not real mates  We’e been over this,” he said darkly, folding his arms at the uncomfortable conversation popping up AGAIN.  A fact that Danny would just NOT LET GO.  He couldn’t enjoy what they had, and would blame Isaac for not being “really” attracted to him.  Which was the cause of their shitty relationship and why they’d been together just as much as they’d been bitterly apart.  

Danny rolled his eyes.  “Whatever.  Bitch,” he spat.  Normally, it would be a term of endearment that they used in playful banter.  This one, unfortunately, was not.  

“We’re ready!” Stiles announced.

The four friends glanced upstairs as Stiles and Derek made their way downstairs.

“No fucking way,” Scott mumbled.

Allison squealed happily at the sight.

Derek and Stiles weren’t in just ANY old rental suit  No, they had a very serious “matchy matchy” thing going on.

Wearing a black suit, Derek’s undershirt was a deep red, with a vivid white rose pinned to the left of his chest.  His tie, a thin trip of black fabric and definitely not a modern style, matched the outer layer of his suit.  Stiles’ engagement ring was dangling from a silver bracelet on his right hand.  He was incredibly handsome, and had a classic beauty about him, straight from the 1920s.

Stiles, by contrast, managed to actually look DAPPER in a solid red suit with black undershirt.  A black rose was pinned to his left chest, and he didn’t even bother with a tie, instead having an open collar.  Derek’s engagement ring was dangling around his neck, on the thin silver chain Talia had bought him as a courting present.

He was modern, cheeky, and screamed “Stiles”.  

“TOO CUTE!” Allison said, immediately reaching for her camera and framing them up for a photo.  

“Send it to Jackson, he’ll NEVER believe it,” Scott said, shaking his head at the sight.  They’d definitely be getting best dressed that night, without a doubt.  

“Remind me again why Jackson couldn’t come to his own Winter Formal?” Danny asked, shrugging off Isaac’s hands as his boyfriend tried to initiate some contact.  

Smiling for the camera, Derek even went so far as to show teeth in his smile.  Once Allison had put away the camera, he switched to face Danny.  “Jackson doesn’t do well with large groups of sappy romantic people.  He’s with John, out of town on a retreat in the woods,” he answered.

Danny rolled his eyes.  “That dude has SERIOUS social issues.  I mean, he missed prom last year, he’s missed EVERY dance since middle school, and the asshole actually turned down LYDIA MARTIN.  Who does that?!” he exclaimed loudly.

The room, save for Allison and Danny, felt incredibly awkward.

They didn't want to say it, but the last time Jackson had been in a large social group of people in love, his incubus senses would have likely sucked the souls out of the entire room, had Stiles not immobilized him immediate and Derek subtly make a graceful exit.

He didn't do "social" after that.  

The room stayed quiet as most of the pack recalled that dark night. 

At least, until Stiles clapped his hands together.  “Okay, we should REALLY get going!  Or the buffet is going to be empty, and I’m going to be VERY cranky if I don’t get those little rolls filled with meat that Kira’s mom makes!” he spat.

In a moment of rare humor, Derek grabbed Stiles by the hand and tugged him towards the door.

“Quickly.  We don’t have much time!  You can’t have a cranky Stiles!  HELL HATH NO FURY,” he exclaimed, with a shit-eating grin.

“ASSSSSSHOLLLLLLEEEEE!” Stiles shouted as they both ran out the front door, their engagement rings jingling in the air.

Isaac laughed, reaching out for Danny’s arm while Scott and Allison made their way to the front door.  

Danny shook him off from any touch, an angry glare covering his face.

 

+

 

The Winter Formal was its same usual corniness.  

Same cardboard cutout snowflakes with a fresh coat of paint and glitter from the art department.  Christmas music playing in the background, because every hasn’t had enough of Mariah Carey.

Blue and teal lights that covered the commons area, giving it more of an ocean coloring than “ice”, like the principal always tried for.  

At least the food was good.  

Miss Yukimura, the new History teacher that had come to town, was an amazing culinary chef who apparently had more degrees than fingers and toes.

Derek had to actually stop Scott and Stiles from overeating, fearful that they might actually explode.

As more and more people arrived to the formal, the pack had finished stuffing their faces and instead chose to enjoy dancing.

Derek had snagged Stiles and moved them to the outermost area.  Knowing his sweetheart, Stiles was going to want to talk.  While Derek didn’t mind, it was going to be obvious that the other couples WOULD.

So after finding a pleasant enough position to hold Stiles with, Derek let Stiles lean into his chest as they swayed back and forth.  Derek had the lead, and Stiles seemed content with that.  For the moment, anyway.

“So like…  Not that I’ve been snooping or anything, but we’re a shoo-in for best dressed, and I watched like thirty people vote for us on “best couple”.  I’m swooning Derek,” Stiles said with a playful tone.  

Derek chuckled.  “The Lacrosse team threatened all the other sports teams,” he answered.

“I’m aware,” Stiles said, rolling his eyes.  “Which is probably going to piss off Scott,” he said, as his smile diminished.

Derek planted a very discreet kiss on Stiles’ lips.  “We can’t help what Scott feels.  His courting is just taking longer, that’s all.  He’s envious of what’s we’ve got, and he’s worried that-”

“You realize you’re explaining human emotions to a being that can literally suck them out of people, right?” Stiles replied.

“Oh, I’m aware.  Don’t I get to talk in this relationship?  Maybe I liked stating the obvious?” Derek asked, thumping his forehead on Stiles’.

Derek noticed the change in Stiles’ atmosphere.

“Have you noticed the obvious about Danny and Isaac?” Stiles asked grimly.  

“Yeah.  I’m resisting the urge to not rip Danny a new one and then stick one of your toys up it,” Derek spat.

“Want some insight from the emotion-sucking leech?” Stiles asked, as the music switched into a more upbeat pace.  They didn’t stop slow-dancing, content to hold each other tightly.

“When have I ever been able to stop you from talking?” Derek replied.

“Danny’s furious,” Stiles said.

Derek nodded.  “I’m not  wisp, but I could see that Stiles,” he whispered.

“No…  no, I don’t think you do,” Stiles said quietly.  “I…  I think you should maybe talk to Isaac about it.  As much as I love Danny, they’re not good for each other.  Danny’s a vampire who’s overcompensating for his lack of a soul by wanting to be in an intimate relationship,” he explained.  

“A relationship that Isaac can’t give him.  Because Danny is not Isaac’s mate.  Hell, he’s not even in the top five.  I smell NOTHING between them.  Except…  Well, resentment and anger,” Derek replied.

Stiles sighed.  “Then TELL him.  You’re his alpha.  He’ll listen to you,” he offered.

“Can’t do that Stiles, it’s not the kind of Alpha I’m going to be,” Derek replied.  

Stiles lifted up from Derek’s chest, watching him curiously.

“I wanna be…  I wanna be like my dad.  The kind of alpha where my pack comes to me with their problems.  Not me forcing to solve their problems.  What do you think would happen if I told Isaac he couldn’t see Danny anymore?  He’d want him all the more, and never admit the problem was there,” he answered.

Groaning, Stiles plopped his head back on Derek’s check.  “Just so you’re aware, if Danny hurts Isaac, REALLY hurts Isaac, I’ll use my wispy magic and freeze him in a pillar of ice for all eternity.  That’s a real thing, just FYI,” he said eagerly.

“Oh, I know.  I saw you practicing on Jackson.  I’m pretty sure his dick is still living inside his body,” Derek said with a deep smile.


	10. Chapter 10

 

**  
  
**

  1. Private Time Away from Pack




Derek and Stiles’ Senior year was generally uneventful.  

Danny and Isaac broke up after the Winter Formal.  They got back together a week later, broke up a month later, and had angry sex on Valentine’s day that EVERYONE in the Hale pack could smell.  So all in all, the “usual”.  

Jackson’s retreat with John had been mostly uneventful.  Except for the part where he came home with leathery black skin, tattered leather wings like a bat, and dead white eyes.  Having finally turned 18, Jackson was a full incubus.  It took him a week to shift back into his human disguise, and a month to have the willpower to go back to school.  Isaac and Scott were his official caretakers, watching him like a hawk so that Jackson didn’t do anything he regretted.

Though as Jackson began snarking back and forth with Lydia Martin, everything was back as it should be.  

Scott and Allison, surprisingly enough, began shifting to their “cute” phase around the start of March.  Shockingly enough, it started when Scott was out hunting with Derek.  While still in his blood-soaked post-hunt wolf self, he had the inexplicable urge to pick flowers with his fangs, and presented to them to Allison’s front door, tail wagging and tongue panting.

Derek described it as “a literal puppy dog that could induce diabetes with its sugary sweet disposition, and I really need to stop staring at this, oh my god, Allison is ACTUALLY petting him”.  At least, that's as much as he could fit on his text message screen.  

Though with spring break coming to a close, and just before the Seniors could see graduation coming down the pipeline, it would mark the Anniversary + 3 months date for Stiles and Derek, meaning their Pack Privacy could finally begin.

Why the 3+ months?

They were SUPPOSED to be able to make their trip back in the tail-end of winter, but found themselves stopped by, naturally, Sheriff Stilinski.  While Talia had no issue with sex (nor did the Argents, surprisingly enough when it came to Scott and Allison), John did.  Unfortunately, Derek was three months older than Stiles.  Meaning that any intercourse at their anniversary's point in time would TECHNICALLY be statutory rape.  A crime that John, as the Sheriff, would be required to report if he had any type of knowledge about it.  One very irritating fact that John's opponent for re-election was oft happy to remind the town.

 In short, it had become a big no-no for John, who went to Derek and politely asked that he wait a few more months.  For Stiles' and his sake, because him as a Sheriff would be more use to derek down the line, than the psychotic opponent that was very anti-anythingnothuman.

Which, Derek being the kind of guy he was, agreed.

So roughly a week after Stiles turned 18 (because OF COURSE Melissa would throw him a surprise party, OF COURSE), the two men had driven the better part of 6 hours to their destination.  

A cabin in the middle of the woods.  Peter’s cabin, actually.  And it was all Derek had been told it was.

While not spacious, it made up with it in elegance. Just a living area with soft leather furniture and indoor fire pit, a bathroom with a jacuzzi for 3, and a bedroom with a double king sized bed that took up the entire space of the room, save for the small walkway that led to the bathroom and living area.

No TV.  No internet.  Nothing.  

Just him, Stiles, and the woods.

And a very fancily wrapped present that Stiles immediately ripped into the moment they stepped in.

“To the Future Derek and Stiles Hale, with love, Uncle Peter!  AH!  He’s too nice.  Did I mention I like him?  Because I DO,” he exclaimed, not bothering to notice that Derek had grabbed all their luggage and thrown them carelessly in the corner.

“He really is a noble man,” Derek replied happily.   

Stiles pulled open the box, and retrieved a very full bottle of violent drink.  “Faux-Chateau’ De’ Hale” was inscribed on a flawless golden label that twirled around the sides in a floral pattern..

“Holy shit, is this…  Like booze?!” Stiles shouted, glancing over the bottle carefully.

Derek laughed.  “Sort of.  It’s called Lila.  Peter was a remarkable cook way back when, and had his own wine line.  Though he developed a non-alcoholic juice that had a the fragrance and sophistication of wine for underage mates.  It’s really popular, and makes a ton of money for the Hale family.  I’ve never personally had any.  They retail for around $200 a bottle.  It's the kind of stuff rich parents buy for their rich kids for special occasions,” he explained.  

Stiles picked up two other objects from the box.  Crystalline, thin shaped wine glasses that were colored in subtle refracting crystals that gave them a rainbow shimmer.  

“And that would be two of the Hale Family China.  I think that was my Great Aunt Laura's?  Her and her mate were fond of rainbows, at least, what my Uncle said...” Derek explained.

Stiles admired them, sitting them on the endtable.  “Shall we toast to the end of overprotective single parents?” he offered, snagging a wine opener from the inside of the gift box, and prying it into the cork.

Smiling, Derek plopped down next to his mate.  He put his arm around Stiles, taking the wine glass after Stiles poured them two full glasses.  

“To the start of our adult lives.  And being free from Professor Harris.  To starting the pack, buying our first house, and protecting Beacon Hills from the threats of Darkness that loom out of sight.  To-”

Stiles covered Derek’s mouth, sighing.  “To everything in the future,” he said, clinking their glasses together.

Derek chuckled as Stiles took his hand away, and they both took deep sips.

Which Derek spat out immediately from disgust, and Stiles swooned dreamily over.

“BLECK!” Derek shouted, wiping his tongue with the palm of his hand as though he'd just eaten something vile.

“Sweet…  Very tasty.  Like a mildly soured grape juice with strawberries,” Stiles answered happily.  

Derek poured the remainder of his drink into Stiles’ cup, while he stood up and attempted to scrape his tongue clean.  Moving around the house, Derek stopped at the wall.  Where most places would scream for a flat screen wall TV, Peter had instead decorated it with family portraits, complete with golden nameplates that described their contents.

_Derek and Kyle, First Swim ; Summer ; June 1989_

__

_Talia and Kyle, First Chaperoned Date ; Winter ; Christmas Day 1979_

__

_Scott and Allison, Engagment ; Winter ; November 2008_

__

_Jackson & Scott’s Hunting Trip ; Fall ; November 2006_

__

_Family Hale Portrait ; Christmas Day 2008_

There were tons more.  In fact, the wall was more or less a shrine to the current and previous generation of Hales, both pack and human pack.  New and old seemed to merge, carefully photoshopped and made of old-time darkroom quality, on what Derek assumed was Peter’s part.

Once picture, in particular, caught his eyes.  It was one of his father, with a strange woman.  A woman who had gentle features, and was wearing a flowing red gown.

Derek had to stop for a moment.

_Claudia S. & Kyle ; Covenant of the Clans; Spring ; March 1986_

Derek recognized the woman from Stiles' room.  That was Claudia Stilinski, obviously, holding hands with his father in a firm handshake.  She was pregnant, holding her stomach with the free hand she had left.  John, a VERY younger John, was in the background with a heavily pregnant Talia Hale, almost ready to burst.  They both seemed to be observers, letting Kyle and Claudia take up the center of the picture.

 

“Hey!  Derek, take a look at this one!” Stiles exclaimed.

Distracted from the photograph, Derek hadn’t even noticed his mate had gotten up and moved at the far end of the wall, near some older frames.

Derek knew who it was immediately as he stepped towards.  A much younger Peter Hale, probably around the same age as Derek and Stiles were, maybe a year or two older.  A white haired man probably in his early thirties, with a small child in his arms was standing behind him.  The baby had the same white hair as the other man.

_Peter & Crim ; End of my Life ; Winter ; New Year’s Day 1982_

**  
  
**

“Who’s Crim?  I…  I didn’t think Peter could ever smile like that.  Also, “end of my Life”, that’s pretty fucking morbid,” Stiles asked, taking another sip of his Lila.

Derek sighed, looking away from the photograph.  “Peter told me a year back.  He never liked to talk about it, but after you and I had our first free date, he uh…  He felt nostalgic, I guess,” he explained quietly.  “Basically, he came out as gay and had a yeti for a partner who was going to be his mate.  That was Crim.  Crim had a daughter from a his deceased sister, who left the little girl to Crim from her will.  My grandfather, Peter’s father, absolutely forbade it after he found out the truth accidentally.  He forced Peter, under an unbreakable Alpha order, to NEVER see Crim ever again.  To put salt on the wounds, he then ordered Peter to kill himself if he ever saw Crim or the baby's face in person again,” he explained, putting his head down.

Stiles pouted, and Derek could hear his heart shattering from the inside.

“He got screwed up after that, hard-core.  Mom said he went off the deep end and nearly killed himself from starvation, and only kept going once Crim started writing him letters.  He got some therapy, again under Alpha order, and put his energy elsewhere,” Derek replied.

“What’d he do?” Stiles asked, taking another long drink.

“Peter killed my grandfather,” Derek replied, as though he were speaking about the weather.

Stiles choked on his wine, spitting it everywhere on the floor and wall in front of him.  “He WHAT?!” he screeched.

Derek smirked, as if in a sense of pride.  “Peter killed my grandfather because he was threatening my Father to break it off with my mother Talia.  He had an idea of forcing my father into an arranged marriage with another pack.  When Peter heard that, he broke away from the pack and beat my grandfather in a Succession Duel.  He wasn’t about to let our family’s name go into the hands of a moronic power-hungry Alpha.  More importantly, he wasn’t about to let my Dad end up like himself,” he said, with a small smile.

“So Peter became the Alpha, right?  What happened?!” Stiles asked eagerly.

Derek snorted, shaking his head.  “Peter was the Alpha for all of ten minutes.  He gave it to Kyle, saying that my father would be a better leader than he was.  The rest was pretty much history,” he answered.

A brief chill waved around them, as Stiles put his hand inside the back pocket of Derek’s jeans.

“A history that led me to you,” Stiles said, kissing Derek on the cheek.

Derek nodded.  "Yeah.  If he hadn't fought for my dad, then...  I would have never been born," he answered.

Stiles took a moment of contemplating before his eyebrows twitched.  "Wait...  Peter's single.  What happened to him and Crim?" he asked.

Frowning, Derek sighed. "An Alpha's unbreakable order can't be rescinded, even in death.  I believe they still write, actually.  Crim never found another mate, and I believe they're even legally married.  They just...  They can't ever see each other.  Crim lives in Alaska with their daughter.  Damn...  20 years wihout seeing his mate," he said grimly.

Stiles' eyebrows peaked, and immediately turned around to move back to the couch.  Though not before rummaging through their luggage, and retrieving his mother's old book.

"I bet that's why he did everything he did for you.  Even when we were little kids, and after you brought Isaac into your pack," Stiles said, flipping through the many pages of Claudia's tome.

Derek nodded.  "Yeah," he mumbled grimly, wishing he could do something for Peter.  Pay him back for giving him the freedom of living his own life.

-

Family talk, studying magic that Stiles refused to let Derek read, non-alcoholic wine, and cuddling on the couch had been nice.  Nice for two very nervous adults that knew what they were really supposed to be doing.

Which is what had led them to the bedroom, hiding their very nude bodies beneath the silken white sheets.  Derek had taken the bottom, while Stiles laid atop him.  Their bits had intertwined, and both blushed in a quiet unison of silent appreciation of each other’s naked handsomeness.

Derek had sublty grabbed onto Stiles’ asscheeks, squeezing them as though they were toys.  Not that Stiles wasn’t just as bad, mouthing over Derek’s chest and inhaling the musky warm scent.

They stayed there like that, for God knows how long, in a haze of awkward touching, shifting and general sex-cuddling that they’d never been allowed to do before.  .  

At least, until the silence was too much, and that Stiles HAD to talk.

“Hey, uh…  So this is nice.  Like, after we’re engaged, we do this EVERY morning.  This is just too freaking awesome, but…  Uh…”stiles said, until Derek slapped his ass under the sheets affectionately.

"Your totally naked mate is just sort of...  Oh, you know, ramming his junk into your junk, sexually frustrated that we aren’t..  MOVING!" Stiles whined, leaning up and throwing his tongue down Derek’s throat.

Derek blushed, coming up for air as Stiles trailed his tongue over Derek’s neck.  "I've uh...  I've read things.  You know, your...  Sex research.  I’m sort of…  Wondering if…  I mean…” he blabbered, putting his arms around Stiles’ incredibly tiny waistline.

"Stiles, I don't want to break you," Derek finally spat out, as Stiles stopped licking and faced his mate with a set of “oh, duh” eyes.

At least, until he started to laugh.

"Listen, pumpkin, I'm like basically a badass version of an elf.  Hell, the faes are somehow my races' distant cousins.  Sure, depression and sadness can kill us and whatever, but…” Stiles babbled right back.

Till Derek patted him on the asscheeks again.

“But you digress,” he answered.

Stiles chuckled.  “I’m the BEST at disgress!” he said, in an attempted humor.  He smiled through as he peppered kisses over Derek’s face.  

"What I'm saying is that it's going to take a lot more than your dick in my ass to "break" me.  I'm old enough now that even your Wolfie would probably have some difficulty with me and my magic.  I look like a human, but I’m not.  You can have fun with me, and even let loose a bit.  I’ll shut down your emotions if you get too…  Hard core,” Stiles explained.

“You wouldn’t lie to me, right?  Because I know if you’d EVER lie in our relationship, it would because of my fucking dick,” Derek said with a smug grin.

Stiles rolled his eyes, pushing Derek’s head into the mattress with narry a care.  “SHUT UP.  YOUR DICK IS NOT ALL THAT FANTASTIC,” he shouted.

Feeling challenged, Derek lifted up the sheets and hefted Stiles slightly off his body with one hand.  The sight of his fully erect dick shut Stiles up quicker than walking in on Scott and Allison.

“Okay, I lied.  Your dick is really fantastic, and I think it needs its own zip code so I can send it mail.  Mostly poems.  I’d get limericks too, but too many things rhyme with dicks,” Stiles responded playfully.

Rolling his eyes, Derek lowered the sheet and flipped Stiles onto the bottom of the bed.  Derek crawled on his mate, marking kisses up and down Stiles’ chest.

"Okay....  So...  Me top?" Derek asked eagerly.

"What?  Here I thought I was the dominant one in the relationship?!   Isn’t my near-constant swooning and melting into your abs enough?  I’ve been too subtle.  Damnit, my only weakness!” Stiles laughed, pushing Derek off him, where Stiles took back control, grinding their bits together.

Derek smirked, moaning from the contact.  His claws were out, already digging into Stiles’ shoulders.  “Babe, if you let me top right now, and let me show you how much I love you, I swear I will drive the hour it takes to get back into town and buy you WHATEVER dinner you want and rub your feet later,” he said, groaning as they rutted back and forth.

“Damn…  You know me TOO well.  Food AND a foot rub?  Can we be married yesterday?” Stiles said, pressing kisses into Derek’s chest and returning the claw favor with gentle bite marks at Derek’s collar.  

Purring quietly, Derek began bucking up Stiles, making the friction all the more pleasurable.  “Is that a yes?” he asked seductively.

Stiles rolled his eyes.  "Fine.  Pop my cherry, that's FINE.  Fucking horny puppy.  My turn is next, and you better have good stamina, because I don't require sleep, and fully intend to have our spunk on every ounce of this bed,” he answered.

Derek made an amazingly cute mixture of a purr and a growl, left Stiles on top as he threw away the sheets.  He picked up his mate, kissing him as Derek walked off the bed, turned off ALL of the lights, and threw open the wide wall-sized window curtains.  The night’s light bled over the bed, creating a navy colored light in an otherwise pitch black darkness.  Derek took back their original position on the bed, with Stiles on top as he laid down on the bottom.

They’d pre-prepped in privacy of their own bathrooms.  Because nobody wanted to see their partner…  “Cleaning out”.  They were thankfully both ready and were able to miss that awkward conversation.

Slowly, Derek lined the tip of his dick over Stiles’ entrance.

“No, but seriously, can you get on with i-OHMYGODTHEREISADICKINMYASS!” Stiles moaned, as Derek slipped inside of him with little difficulty.

Derek pulled down Stiles to his level, crashing their lips together as he began thrusting slowly in and out.  

Just a steady rhythm.  

Silent kissing and passionate touches.  

Derek’s massive hands cupping and holding every inch of Stiles’ body, using his claws on the meatier sections.  

Stiles bucked in tune with Derek, using his free hand to pleasure himself, while using his other hand to explore Derek’s back and shoulders.  

No creepy fetish talk (YET), no “games” (YET), and no rough wolf-inspired sex (YET).

They made love, slowly but surely.  Their skin became seemingly indistinguishable, as one combined melding of flesh.

Until they both came in unison, and finally smelled as each other.  A scented marking that would never leave their pours.

+

Derek tried not to be “funny”.  He liked being witty, it wasn’t the same thing as funny.  Funny was Stiles’ thing, and yet he couldn’t stop thinking of SOMETHING funny to talk with Stiles about.  

Because 16 hours of non-stop sex between two supernatural beings that didn’t know what “tired” was, ended up being a mixture of sheer humor and remarkable talent.  He suddenly wondered how Scott dealt with Allison’s…  “Humanity”, because Derek hadn’t felt even remotely satisfied until at least round 4, 2 hours in.  Stiles hadn’t gotten his Wispy self even BUZZED until around hour 8.   

The only reason they HAD stopped was because Stiles needed a food break to fill his calorie-depleted stomach, and Derek’s nose could only smell sex and cum, which wasn’t all that bad, but also made his wolf about as useful as a puppy with the flu.

Shaking off the mental images, Derek settled back into bed, running his fingers through his freshly showered hair.  He MISSED the smell of Stiles’s happy juices (No…  No, that’s not funny, not funny enough for Stiles, Derek thought) on him.  

Re-entering the bedroom, Stiles was carrying a huge tray of food and beverages.  Mostly fruit, protein bars Derek knew was for himself, teas, water, several sodas, and the last of the Lila.  

“Okay, so I’ve decided that we are going to try out for Olympic Sexing, because we could bring home the goddamn GOLD!  HOT DAMN Derek, I am seriously going to mutilate my father's asshole opponent for keeping me away from THIS for three more months than was necessary!” Stiles said, putting the tray down on the bed.  He shook his body like a dog, getting the water from his own shower off his body.

Derek smiled, snagging a bottle of water and a huge bananna for himself.  “Really?  See, I could picture you in International Limbo Contest, because of that way you bended around my-” he tried to say, at least until Stiles shoved the half-peeled banana into Derek’s mouth.  

“What happens in bed STAYS in bed!” Stiles warned.

“Or gets on Youtube,” Derek said, barely audible considering his mouth was full of fruit.

The two settled in pretty quickly.  While they didn’t have much in the way of entertainment, Stiles had brought his brick of an iPod, with pretty much any playlist one could imagine.  Having turned on his “Date Night” playlist, the two were met with the sounds of Katy Perry belting out Teenage Dream.  

Stiles snuggled up into Derek’s warm body, humming quietly along with the song.

“Remind me again why I love you?  Katy Perry?  Really?” Derek said, playfully snubbing what he knew was one of Stiles’ favorite songstresses.  

“Says the man who doesn’t like the Eagles OR Fallout Boy.  Your opinion is pretty much invalid, peach-butt,” Stiles responded, nudging Derek in the side.

Derek rolled his eyes.  There was no winning when it came to music with Stiles.  Every musician he ever listened to had at least ONE song he adored more than life itself.  Derek shuddered to think how much money had gone into his iPod’s music listing, but he always seemed to have some song for some occasion.  

Just one of the many things he loved about Stiles.  

“Hey Derek?  Can you promise me something?” Stiles asked, clinging onto Derek’s arm tightly.

He nodded without hesitation.  “What?” Derek asked.

Stiles gulped mildly.  “So..  The courting thing has really been about me getting used to Werewolf Culture, but…  There’s just one thing about my culture I really want you to know about.  Especially now that we’ve…  Bonded,” he explained.

Derek smelled the fear.  It was subtle, as in something Stiles wasn’t actively worried about, but a seeded fear that was crammed away in his heart, ready to grow at any minute.

“What?” Derek said, grabbing Stiles’ hand tightly.

Stiles bit his bottom lip, eventually laying his head directly on Derek’s heart.  “That no matter what dangerous things you do..  Because I KNOW you’re going to do them, being the town’s future Alpha and everything, and I know your dad and Uncle Peter do stupid shit sometimes, so I know it’s in your blood and-” he said, silencing his babbling immediately.  

“Promise me that you’re always going to try to come home.  Promise me that..  You’ll use that brain and always find a way to solve your problems without dying.  Don’t be your father, just…  Just please promise me that,” he begged.

Derek shook his head.  “Stiles..  Why is this-”

Stiles smiled.  “Because if you die, I won’t be far behind,” he said, interrupting Derek.

Derek felt stiles’ heart race wildly.  His once warm skin faded into a painful cold.

“It’s…  It’s something that can happen.  You’ve seen me get sick before, like with Jackson when we were kids, and the few times that I really worried about our family, but…  It’s more than that.  Losing a mate?  A mate as wonderful as you?  I know I’ll get depressed and slowly die a painful Wisp death,” he answered.

Derek recalled it.  Way back when they were kids, his mother had read him all about wisps from a textbook Mother Melissa brought home from work.

Wisps got sick from emotional traumas, not from disease or pain.  Having a temper tantrum was akin to a fever.  Crying was more like a common cold.  Though the most severe of all were “depression” sicknesses.  Or situations where a wisp might fall into depression or depression-related traumas after losing a loved one.  "Lovebird Syndrome", they'd been called.

To a wisp, those were death sentences

"It's like cancer for wisps.  Depression, like from losing a soulbound mate.  We lose the ability to steal or expend the emotions onto other people.  The depression festers, and we...  We turn to glass," Stiles finished.

“Glass?!” Derek exclaimed.

Stiles nodded.  “So that the world can see through us, and hopefully remove the broken part of us.  Not that it ever works.  Once we go glass we…  We never go back,” he said, attempting to make a joke, but failing.

Derek held stiles tighter.  “Why’s this coming up now?” he asked worryingly.

Slowly, Stiles settled into his mate’s warm arms.  “I saw the picture of your dad in the hallway.  I…  I know how sad your mom is without him, and…  God, he looks a LOT like you.  Except the thicker beard…  But…  Then I thought how you’d probably do the same shit for me.  Sacrifice yourself for…  ME.  Then…  I’d just die anyway,” he mumbled.

Sighing, Derek nodded.  “Fine.  I promise to value my life as much as I value yours.  No self sacrificing bravado,” he said, raising a hand like a boy scout before scooching down in bed and lying on the side, away from the music that was actually his.

Stiles smiled, pressing a kiss on Derek’s neck.  

“Thanks peach-butt,” he said happily.

Derek groaned, pushing Stiles away.  “Now shut up.  My ass is sore, I never expected you to be a jackhammer in bed. I need some sleep so I don't have to feel the throbbing,” he play-whined.

Stiles scoffed.  “How adorable, Mr. I Cried in Bed thinks that I’m the one who was a surprise!”

“I wasn’t crying…  I was just…  Incredibly happy,” Derek said defensively.

 **“** You BAWLED.  You have such a motherfucking “making love” fetish.  I really should-” Stiles said, until Derek rolled on top of him, virtually making Stiles the middle of a mattress and Derek sandwich, where nobody could hear his muffled annoyance at being squished.


	11. Chapter 11

  1. Marking




 

After their time away from the pack, Stiles and Derek returned for the last few months of their high school education with their family.    (With ALL the teasing one might expect)

Prom had been practically a re-hash of the winter formal, though with Scott and Allison taking home prom king and queen.  Derek may or may not have threatened the lacross team’s life if they voted for him and Stiles AGAIN, because winning meant another annoying-ass picture taking seminar with the yearbook committee.  Which annoyingly enough, Derek had been shot dozens of times already.  Stiles had been even more.

To everyone’s pleasant surprise, the Demon Rights Activism Committee (the DRAC) was able to win a massive Supreme Court Victory around Spring Break.  After a hunter shot and killed a demon child a year back, who had only sprouted wings as a dog attacked him, the DRAC sued the Argent Family (a ridiculously distant relative of Allison's had committed the crime) and won out three appeals, the last in the Supreme Court.  In short, it created the first pro-demon “case history”.  With the highest court in the land being on record as showing that demon slaying without probable cause was unconstitutional.  Rina V Argent would soon become as hallowed as Roe V Wade or Brown V Board of Education.  It gave modern (non-violent) demons freedom to not hide in the shadows.

Though Jackson, as the only Demon in Beacon Hills, maintained his human “ruse”, despite the pack’s support and Derek’s insistence that he’d ruin anyone that made him sad.  Jackson insisted that he wasn't ready and had little to no interest in being "looked down upon".  Because even if the law were on his side, society wouldn't be.  

Allison, as an engaged woman, soon moved in with the Hale family as soon as she turned 18.  Tradition stated that engaged wolf couples lived together, in preparation for their life of love, and in order to find “compromises” to any issues that might come up with living arrangements.  Naturally, Allison won most of those “compromises”, from stealing the left side of the bed from Scott, and to the insistence that Scott actually do his own laundry and stopped making Isaac do it for him.  Though the biggest decision had to do with the pack.  As a born Alpha turned Beta, Scott could have easily left the Hales and started his own pack.  In fact, the Argents encouraged it, with Kate Argent begging her sister to encourage it.  

Still, he and Allison were adamant about staying with Derek as their Alpha.  An announcement they made as Allison’s last box was unpacked, when they both swore their loyalty to Derek's family, and Allison took the name Hale alongside her fiance.  Not that Derek would actually make them do anything to prove that loyalty, or even abuse it.  Like everything else in wolf culture, most everything done was based on tradition.  

Isaac and Danny were their usual selves.  At least, until a violent dispute over mating happened out in the woods.  Danny DEMANDED to know who Isaac's real mate was.  Because apparently, Isaac had been "distant".  He accused Isaac of cheating, and just stringing him along to "double dip".  The night ended with Danny inches away from biting Isaac in a rage as they wrestled angrily together in a violent scuffle.  As a born wolf, Isaac couldn’t be turned into a vampire.  The bite would have killed him, as his wolf cells and parasitic vampire cells fought and killed his organs for supremacy.  Not that anyone in the pack KNEW how close he’d come to death, Isaac instead chose to keep his issues all to himself.  Though Stiles was eager to pick up on the stress, and went out of his way to make sure that both Stiles AND Derek were there to talk.  

Though despite the changes that had come to their lives, some things still had to march forward.  

April Fool’s Day, as it turned out, would be the day Stiles accidentally chose to be marked.  He’d signed all the necessary legal paperwork to have a moral wound inflicted on his neck, which would save Derek and the Hales from any potential lawsuits or accusations of "abuse" and signed it to be effective 2 weeks after the date he signed.  To give him enough "time" to think things over.  Werewolves were VERY conscientious about consent.  He was both humbled and ridiculously irritated at the same time.

Derek and he had taken the day off school, which KILLED Stiles.  April Fool’s Day was his TIME.  The school NEEDED him to be there, and destroy their lungs from the force-induced laughter.  Not to mention they need him as a Wisp, to help absorb all the bad feelings.  With graduation looming, there had been a lot of nervous and fearful energy in their hallways.  The few people worrying about their college acceptance letters, scholarships, and everything in between.  Even having one day off of school made Stiles nervous.  This was his classmate’s LAST month of high school, and they should be enjoying it, not worrying needlessly.   He'd even gotten good enough to steal away their anxiety and not get secondhand nausea out of it.  Small doses anyway.  

Still, his peach-butt needed him.  Courting would be over soon, this was practically the last step that involved Stiles being asked repeatedly “are you sure?”.  

Sitting in Derek’s bedroom, Stiles could feel the lack of hearts in the home.  Scott, Allison, Isaac, Melissa, and Talia were gone.  No matter how much they all knew what was happening was natural, the smell of the blood was going to be enough to make them want to rip Derek’s heart out.  Because that was what Stiles was to them now.  He was like a brother.  He was one of them.  

Not that they could really challenge Derek not to do it.

Taking the bite was not necessary.  Stiles would never have to be a werewolf, and he wasn’t even sure if his Wisp cells would take them.

Being “marked”, however, was.  

Basically the equivalent of a birth mark, the mating mark signified an everlasting bond between mates.  After the mark, there was no going back.  Stiles and Derek would be mates for life.  All other wolves could feel the bond and know that Stiles was off limits.  It would be a glowing neon sign, saying “WEREWOLF MATE, YOU WILL BE MURDERED IF YOU HURT HIM”.  At least, that’s how Scott had explained it after he marked Allison.

Stiles shook, laying on top of Derek’s bed.  It had all been covered with terrycloth towels.  Considering Derek would be ripping into his jugular, the was probably going to be…  Blood.

“Nervous?” Derek asked, trying to laugh in order to break the tension.

“Uh…  Yes.  Not that I don’t trust you peach-butt, but I’m uh…  I’m just a little skittish about…  Blood.  You know me…  Never really been all that fond of it,” Stiles answered nervously.

“We can wait, if you want.  I mean, it’s a pretty big step,” Derek said, as his fangs shot out of his mouth.  He was already disinfecting them with alcohol swabs.  

Stiles shook his head, moving over to the nightstand, snagging a bottle of rubbing alcohol.  He stripped off his shirt, and poured a sizable serving on his neck.  With a spare towel, he wiped around the area to sterilize it.  Dr. Deaton had been very specific about STERILE marking practices.  Not that Derek and Stiles had any transmittable diseases, or could even get sick for that matter, but it was just common courtesy.

“No…  Let’s get it over with.  I can’t wait for you to take your sweet fucking time deciding when to propose.  Five bucks says you do something stupid like wait until Christmas or when I graduate from college,” Stiles answered quietly.

Derek scoffed.  “Well, then let’s get down to it,” he said, taking off his own shirt and joining Stiles on the bed.  He sat to Stiles’ left, taking his hand.  

A wave of horror flashed through Derek, and Stiles caught the emotion before even Derek probably felt it.  

“What?” Stiles asked, forming a weak smile.  

Derek chuckled. “I uh…  I spent a long time…  Thinking that I’d never be this far with anyone…  Didn't think you'd be the one I’d doing this with.  Way back then, I...  I expected I'd be alone the rest of my life.  That I'd be...  Peter,” he whispered back.  

Stiles grinned.  “Thirteen.  I was pretty much dead when it happened, but I saw it,” he answered.  Laughing, Stiles leaned into Derek’s side.  “I remember how ugly you looked at my dad.  Then you said it..” he calmly explained.

_“WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY MATE?!”_

Stiles smiled.  He could still hear those exact words, in Derek's voice.

“Mom was with me when we heard it,” Stiles said, smiling happily.  

Derek turned to Stiles, surprised.  Stiles never shared what his week in death was like.  He’d made some assumptions, but it was a very personal matter that Derek didn’t want to dig too deeply into.  The one time that Isaac had pestered Stiles about it, Stiles shut off immediately and went back home.  He didn't call them for a week.

“Oh…” Derek whispered.

Stiles nodded.  “Yeah, it was…  It was surreal.  But mom…  Mom just smiled like crazy.  I think she cried more than I did.  She was so happy that I had someone so special in my life,” he said, shutting this eyes as he fully exposed his neck.  “I never told you this, but…  Way back in Kindergarten?  After you stopped Jackson from bullying me?  After we had our first sleepover?  I went home and told my dad I was in love with a boy from school, like how mommy had loved him when she was still alive,”  he said warmly.

Derek's heart thudded.  

"Dad told me...  That he was happy for me.  But that...  I should be really careful with my heart and gave it to.  He was worried, of course, because I was a wisp.  I mean...  While we were growing up, I never expected that you'd want to be with me.  You were always the cool kid.  I was...  I was the dweeb that held onto you and Scott, getting secondhand coolness just because of us being friends in Kindergarten.  So I...  I didn't do anything with it.  I had a mild crush on Lydia Martin in elementary school, but...  My mind never left you either.  Hell, I thought it was weird.  I was a guy who liked guys AND girls?  I..  I was scared," Stiles answered.

Grabbing Stiles' waist, Derek pulled him closer.  

"Then...  Then I heard you GROWLING at my dad.  Growling because you saw me dead, and...  You...  You called me mate.  Mate, as in WEREWOLF mate," Stiles said.  "Now, here we are today.  Where I'm still waiting on you to-"

Derek sank his fangs deeply into Stiles’ neck.  Hearing the words had been enough of him to understand what Stiles was trying to say.

_“Bite me already peach-butt, I love you and I'm ready to spend the rest of my life with you."_

Yelping, Stiles scrambled underneath Derek for a moment as the massive fangs settled inside of him, out of anticipation of the pain.  When no pain came, Stiles glared at Derek immediately.

It felt like NOTHING.  As if he’d just been pricked by the smallest needle imaginable.  Not a drop of blood left his neck.  In fact, it was warm.  Like something was searing inside his body, warming him to his very core.

Even as Derek pulled up from the neck, only a mild trickle of blood, like a nosebleed, came out of circle of teeth around Stiles’ neck.  Which immediately evaporated as Derek lapped up around the circle.  

"Derek, I'm no doctor, but I think having half a dozen razor-sharp fangs dug into my jugular should have hurt or left more of a...  Wound?" Stiles asked.

Derek was laughing.  Derek was actually laughing.

“Did I mention a mating bite is painless if both parties consent and feel the same level of love?  It's the last sign werewolves look for.  Any pain felt was a sign of second thinking.  In fact, any pain is a clear sign that we'd not be working out.  Oh dear, how did I forget that?  How could all of the wolves in this pack not have remembered to tell you that?” Derek said with a snarky grin.

Stiles looked around his body.  The towels everywhere had been POINTLESS.  The towels that DEREK and SCOTT had put all over the room.  The emergency first aid kit from Isaac off in the corner?  Unnecessary.  Even Talia had given him a "pep talk".

“You motherfuckers,” Stiles said, with a gaping angry mouth.

“I did forget, didn’t I?” Derek said, winking as he pecked a kiss on Stiles’ quickly-scarring mate mark.

Stiles felt a mixture of pride, humor and deep-hot anger swelling inside of him.  Pride that Derek had actually kept a secret joke from him, incredibly humored by the situation, and angry that he hadn’t thought of that joke first

“YOU ASSHOLE!  WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY IT WASN’T GOING TO HURT?!” Stiles screeched.

Derek let up from bite kisses, moving up to Stiles’ mouth to shut him up.  He snorted.

“April Fool’s sweetheart.  From the Hale pack to you,” Derek whispered.

“OH MY GOD, I AM SO PISSED OFF RIGHT NOW!  I’VE BEEN WORRYING ABOUT THIS FOR A MONTH YOU GODDAMN ASSHOLE!  I AM SO GOING TO CUT OFF YOUR SEX RIGHTS FOR-”

Derek shut Stiles up, planting their lips together and they rolled into a heavy make out session.

The joke would be on Derek later anyway.  Stiles had replaced his facial scent-cleanser with hair removal cream.  Mr. Smartass would be going to to school the next day without a beard for the first time since the seventh grade.  

  
  


  1. Pre-Engagement Declaration &

  2. Parental & Pack Engagement Approval

  3. Engagement




  
  


A week after taking the mark, everyone gathered to celebrate Stiles’ and Derek’s union.  Nothing too special, actually, because Derek was Derek and never had a fondness for large gatherings.  It was basically their usual monthly family barbeque on crack, which included Peter, who took some time off work.  

After all, the mating mark was a big deal worth celebrating.

So while everyone was talking back and forth in their usual spots in the backyard, Stiles and Derek were sitting with John, as they all toasted in unison.

“To the happy couple,” John said, taking a long drink from his bottle of beer.

Derek rolled his eyes, scratching is still growing-back-in beard as he drank down his bottle of cola.  “Happy is such a strong word right now,” he said, glaring at Stiles.

“Shut up, you LOVE me,” Stiles said, smirking right back.  

“Whatever,” Derek responded, nudging at Stiles from the side.

John sighed.  “Stiles’ mother was the same way to me Derek, I feel your pain.  You sure you know what you’re getting into here?  Wisps are basically little eager imps when they’re around their mates.  Gotta say son, you're in for a long haul,” he said, patting Derek’s back.

“HEY!  YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO LIKE DEREK BETTER THAN ME!  THAT IS SO RUDE!” Stiles shouted, as Derek and John side-hugged.

“So Pops, how about that game last week?” Derek said, smirking.

“What a blowout,” John responded, both turning away from Stiles and starting an imaginary conversation about an imaginary football team.

Stiles threw his hands up, exasperated.  “I knew it!  I fucking KNEW it!  I knew you two would have a bromance!  If you start talking about cars, I’m DONE!” he exploded.

“So what’s the specs on your Camaro's Engine?” John asked.

Derek sighed.  “It’s only a-”

Stiles stuffed Derek’s mouth with a hot dog bun.  “NO.  NO NO NO.  I am not sitting here and listening to you two BOND.  That shit is for when I’m NOT here!” he said.

John chuckled.  “Okay then, Derek, let’s get to the really important matters,” he said, turning to Stiles.  “What are your “intentions” with my son?  How many grandchildren can I expect?  When you deflowered my son, did you-” he said snarkily, cut off as Stiles threw a hamburger bun at his father.

Stiles pulled the hot dog bun from Derek’s mouth.  “CAR SPEAK.  YES, CAR SPEAK IS GOOD!” he exclaimed.

Derek rolled his eyes.  “I’m going to marry him, at least 4 or more if he’s willing, and we don’t talk about sex in public, but I’m pretty sure we both saw stars,” he answered with a smirk.

“OH MY GOD DEREK, DO NOT TALK TO MY DAD ABOUT OUR SEX LIFE,” Stiles shouted.

“I’d have to agree,” John said, staring blandly at Derek.  

The bromance came to a crashing stop.

Thankfully, Talia came to the flying rescue, plopping down next to Stiles.  In her hands were two small red wrapped package.  “Happy marking Stiles.  I wanted to give you and your father a small gift.  Really, they’re nothing much, just a welcoming present to the Hale family.  Not that you haven’t already been in our family since you were five, BUT, consider this an official gift,” she explained, handing both Stiles and John each one of the boxes.

John was the first to open the box, retrieving what appeared to be a…  Credit Card.  John’s name was on it, with a silver H emblazoned on it.

Stiles had one as well.  Another Credit Card, with his own name on it.

“Part of being in our pack means that we take care of you.  Financially speaking, we’re well enough off as old money to take care of anything either of you need.  It’s part of your choice if you want to continue working or not, but…  You are both part of the Hale family now.  This is your right, and your privilege,” Talia explained.

John chuckled.  “Talia, you should know me better.  I’m not all that interested in-”

“Then keep it for emergencies,” Talia responded immediately.

Before John could answer, he found Talia’s fingertip silencing his mouth.  “There may be a time in the future when things change.  Keep it for if and when those things change.  Think of it as…  My way of…  Welcoming you to our family and both…  Repaying you for…  The past,” she whispered.

John pocketed the card, narrowing his eyes and glaring at Talia.  “Don’t mention that.  Don't ever think that money will ever--,” he spat, bitting his lip till it drew blood.  He was holding something inside his throat, but dying for it to belt out.  

Derek and Stiles exchanged an odd look, but choose not to dig any deeper.  Both Talia and John were on the verge of either clawing each other out or going into a long argument like they hadn’t done since the boys were in first grade.  They'd kept a mild friendship, despite whatever was raging in their past.

Stiles laughed nervously, sliding the credit card into his front shirt pocket.  “So uh..  WOW.  Bestest present ever!  I uh…  I promise to just use it for big stuff like College and maybe if my Jeep craps out…  Definitely don’t want to be a moocher!” he exclaimed.

Talia and John both turned to Stiles, as if in a bit of shock.

"College?!  You havne't talked about that since you heard about your...  Inheritance from the Hale Family!" John answered.

“You’re STILL going to college?  Stiles you don’t have to work.  I just want you and Derek to-” Talia immediately exclaimed, silenced as Stiles shook his head.

“Yeah, I know, and I appreciate it.  Trust me, living like a King would be wonderful, BUT I’d get bored.  Have you met me?  I’m the King of ADHD, remember?  I’ve GOT to do stuff, or I’m going to be bored.  Besides, someone’s got to take over mom’s-” Stiles said, cutting his voice off before glancing away.

“Stiles?” John asked, losing all sense of rage he’d just had.

Derek put his hand on Stiles’ shoulder.  “Stiles is going to reopen his mother’s practice.  We’re going to have an emotional treatment and herbal supplement clinic in our new home after he graduates from college..  I’ve already got the architect working on it for the blueprints.  Including an herbal drydock underneath the home for whatever he needs to grow,” he explained.

John and Talia, both speechless, turned to Stiles.

Laughing, Stiles shook his head.  “Uh..  Wow, did not mean to blab all this out yet.  I uh…  Well…  I mean, you guys know there’s like MAYBE 60+ wisps in the US?  California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington don’t even have one in their states.  And…  Damn, there’s a lot of people that could use a Wisp.  People need their depression and anxiety removed and never let them come back again.  If I got to know more about the human brain, psychology and stuff, I might…  Be better at stuff,” he explained.

“Wisps are magic.  Why would you need school?  Surely that can be self taught...  There's not even any magic courses anywhere except in New York, because of the Eastern Magic Orthodoxy population,” Talia retorted.

Stiles threw his hands up.  “Listen, I dont know!  I’m flying by the seat of my pants!  I’ve been reading mom’s book since I was thirteen, and I have NO IDEA what I’m doing have the time.  Mom used really complicated terminology, and I have to have a fucking Dictionary and Google to even get through a PAGE!  Unless I get smarter and learn more about people, I’m not going to be as helpful!  NOT TO MENTION ALL THE FREAKING FLOWERS AND HERBS THAT I NEED BOTANY AND CHEMISTRY 101s TO EVEN BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND!  TOO MUCH BULLSHIT GOOGLE DOESN’T KNOW!  This is stuff my mom was PASSIONATE about.  She didn't pull any punches on her notes!  SIMPLE SHIT IS WRITTEN IN LATIN.  I want that same kind of fire!  I want to make my mom's book my own!  I want to learn things that she never knew about!  I want to be the BEST!  College might be a waste of time for magic, but HELL, it'll help me as a person!” Stiles shrieked.  He actually had to pant to get back his breathing to normal.

Talia blinked a few times.  “Oh.  Well, then…  Then I suppose-”

“Mom, Stiles is not the housewife in our relationship.  He can do whatever he wants, quite being so ancient,” Derek was quick to say.

“DEREK!” Talia shouted.

Laughing quietly, Derek shook his head.  “Mom, we’re gay.  There’s not a “man” and not a “woman” stigma in our relationship.  I know you want him to be home to raise kids because he looks like the “wife” in wolf culture, but it’s not happening.  Honestly, that’s going to be me,” he explained.

John and Talia eyed Derek questioningly.  

“Not that I’m the wife either, but…  Well…  I’m the Alpha.  I can’t have a job because I have to make sure the supernatural screws up Beacon Hills.  We live in a time of peace too, so that’s just going to keep me in the house, like you are right now mom,” Derek responded, rubbing the back of his head.  “So…  When we finally decide to adopt, I’ll take care of them in the day,” he explained.

There was an incredibly long and awkward silence.  More information than either Talia or John could adequetely absorb.

“You two have…  Thought a lot, haven’t you,” John said, finally breaking the silence.

Stiles and Derek held each other’s hands tightly under the picnic table.  

“Maybe because we’re both looking for a full family again.  Maybe because we want to give some kids the same happiness we lost,” Derek whispered.

“Because we don’t want our memories to fade of the people we lost.  We want to make their dreams, and what they wanted out of life, come true,” Stiles mumbled.

“And maybe…  Because we want to be the kind of parents we had, and the parents who are still with us.  Maybe we want that kind of life now.  Maybe it’s something we thought about, even when we were little,” Derek finished.

John and Talia both looked away.  They wiped away the formation of tears, both laughing on their own.  

“Kyle…  Kyle wanted to have 12 kids.  He actually told me that one day, because all he ever wanted was to be the kind of father he and Peter never had.  I think… I think he’s smiling, wherever he is right now…  Because he has a son that looked up to him so much,” Talia said, almost giggling.

John shook his head.  “Claudia only wanted to help people.  That’s all she wanted out of life, as well as raising our child into a fine young man.  In both cases, I’m sure she’s happy to see she succeeded,” he said, patting Stiles’ back.

Stiles stood up from the bench, wiping his eyes as he hopped away and tried to not let anyone else see him cry.  “Okay then!  Mush time up!  Thanks for the gift Talia, and…  Well, thanks for everything,” he answered, as he started to wander over to Scott to assist him with the barbeque.

Until Derek stole his hand.

“Actually, there’s one more present I’d like to give,” he said softly.

Stiles turned around, feeling as Derek’s body shifted behind him.  His eyes shot open.

Derek was down on one knee.

Then, EVERYONE saw what was happening.  Hell, even Stiles knew what was happening.

Isaac squealed halfway across the backyard getting everyone else revved into the moment.  While Allison and Scott were already sobbing hysterically, the steaks burned and started a small fire that nearly caught Scott on fire.  Jackson smirked happily as he leaned against a tree, while John and Talia got teary-eyed.  Melissa dropped the tray of lemonade she’d brought from the house as she joined the party once more.

Derek chuckled, taking a deep breath.  

“Stiles.  In front of all these people, I’d like to formally request for your hand in marriage, and the blessing of our pack to move forward in our relationship.  If my pack has no objections with my judgement, then I asked the following question.  Genirimsystiles Stilinksi, will you marry me?” Derek asked, clutching Stiles’ hand tightly.

Without missing a beat, Stiles turned around glared at his friends and family, totally not crying.  No, he was MANLY about the proposal.

“NO FUCKING JOKES, YOU GET IT?  If…  If any of you say no, and DAD IF YOU MAKE ME WAIT ANY LONGER, I will freeze your asses worse than Han Solo!  I KNOW HOW TO SUMMON GLACIERS AND I AM NOT AFRAID TO USE THEM!” he spat bitterly.  

Needless to say, none of Stiles’ friends or family disagreed.  There were no objections.  In fact, most of them stepped away from the couple, giving the two space.

Then, like that, Derek and Stiles were engaged.  They exchanged their rings, which, naturally, fit like gloves.


	12. Chapter 12

Everything went fast after the engagement.  A rush of moving, planning, overbearing mother figures, one very proud father, and rumor mills shooting everywhere around the school.  Before they’d known it, a month had passed.

Finally finding a moment of peace, Derek and Stiles had laid down next to each other in Derek’s room.  Stiles had finished moving in just a day earlier, and his things were finally packed away.  It was THEIR room now.  

Derek was gently stroking Stiles’ bare chest.  They’d both settled down for bed, stripped down to just their pajama bottoms.

“We’re really getting married, aren’t we?” Stiles asked, clearing his throat.

Derek nodded, smiling softly.  “As soon as we graduate and right after we get our new pack house built.  So…  July or August?  Unless you’d like a fall or winter wedding?  Or we could wait until you finish college.  I’m fine with whatever you’d like,” he said.

Stiles shook his head.  “No, just as soon as we can.  I want to be Stiles Hale YESTERDAY.  I want ALL the happy fun married times.  But mostly, I want to be Scott’s boss as the Alpha Mate,” he joked playfully.

Sighing, Derek shook his head.  “So..  Let me guess.  You’ve already got pretty much all of the wedding planned, am I right?” he asked.

Stiles snuggled closer to Derek.  He pressed a gentle kiss into Derek’s neck.  “I don’t want anything big.  A simple ceremony here, in the backyard.  No suits, I hate suits. Prom was like a fancy death for me.  Glad we did it, but fucking NO for a wedding, the wedding should be about US. Vows kept to a minimum, we already know everything about each other, and everybody doesn't need to know our business.  No priest, I think I want Peter to be the officiator, I'm sure he'd do that for us.  I’d like two seats in the ceremony, one for your dad and one for my mom.  We’ll let Allison and Lydia do the flowers, because they’re going to want to shanghai the wedding if I don’t get them something to do.  Scott’s my best man, you can’t have him,” he said in quick succession.

“Jackson and Isaac can be my best men,” Derek assured Stiles.

“Good.  Chinese buffet?” Stiles asked.

“I’m fond of Italian,” Derek replied.

“Mix and match?” Stiles offered.

“My mother is going to hate us.  We are doing this wedding thing about 300% wrong,” Derek said, nodding as he pressed a deep kiss into Stiles’ neck.

“It’s OUR wedding,” Stiles assured Derek.

“So just…  Six more months, huh?” Derek said, smiling brightly.

Stiles groaned.  “It’s going to take so LONG!” he said with a great deal of whining.

"Yeah...  Yeah, long to get there and even longer till we get to be really close," Derek bemoaned.

"Huh?" Stiles replied, looking to his mate curiously.

“Alpha classes start after graduation.  Then you start college.  We probably won’t be seeing much of each other after that.  For a while, anyway,” Derek said quietly.

Stiles turned around on the bed, laying face to face with his mate.  “Why do you even NEED classes?  You’re like the single best Alpha there is!” he said.

Derek chuckled.  “I’m a junk Alpha, Stiles.  I spent the last thirteen years caring just about myself, MY problems, and…  Well, I’ve got a lot to learn,” he mumbled.

“What?!  You are a FABULOUS Alpha!” Stiles shot back immediately.

Stiles thought back to Isaac, where Derek became his own Alpha as a child in order to protect someone in pain.  Then there was the time Derek stayed in wolf form while he was dead, as well as the time he was frozen solid after taking away Jackson’s pain.  He was selfless when it mattered.  

Derek shook his head.  “No, I’m not,” he repeated, leaning over and switching off the light switch.  Their room was covered in darkness, and Derek pulled Stiles closer, leaning him into his chest.  

When Derek wasn’t looking, Stiles just rolled his eyes.  “ _Please.  I guarantee that by the time we graduate, I could make an itemized list of how AMAZING of an Alpha you really are,_ ” he thought quietly to himself.  .

+

Stiles and Scott, naturally, just HAD to have their own private bachelor party.  Not that drinking did much for either of them (drinking just made Stiles sick and emotionally “wonky”, while Scott couldn’t even get drunk), but it was “the right thing to do”.  Derek hadn’t questioned where they were going with Isaac, all he could figure is that without John involved and paying with his mother’s credit card, there must have been large quantities of food involved, and probably even a stripper or two, knowing Scott.

Still, given that there would be multiple people involved, Jackson had opted not to attend.  So that just left him and Derek by themselves in the Hale household.

Neither really said much, just watching the TV screen play whatever random crap Scott and Stiles had set to record on the DVR.  This ended up being Derek’s bachelor party, at least until Lydia or Allison got a hold of him.  They’d likely do a simple little home party for all of them.

Which was fine with him.  He never really liked leaving home, anyway.

“Hey Derek?” Jackson asked, breaking the mutual silence.

Derek turned to his demonic Beta.  “Yeah?”

Jackson took a deep breath.  “I want to come out as a demon.  We’ve got like a month of school left.  I think I can handle…  Whatever people think for a month…  Maybe,” he whispered quietly.

Derek rose an eyebrow.  “What brought this on?” he asked.

“You,” Jackson responded almost immediately.

“Me?  What?!” Derek responded dully.

Jackson laughed.  “You’re so fucking happy ever since you came out.  Even happier since you got your mate.  You were a fucking sour piece of shit ever since we were kids.  Nowadays?  You’re on cloud nine and you actually…  Fuck, you actually look THRILLED,” he exclaimed.  

Derek, taken aback, watched Jackson’s face soften .  Jackson always had a resting “bitch” face.  For the moment, it had softened.  

“Do you know how hard it is?  Having this…  This..  Layer of magic on top of your body?  HIDING what you really are?  It itches, Derek.  It’s an itch I can’t fucking scratch, and it drives me insane every day.  I’m…  Goddamnit.  FUCK THIS,” Jackson said, holding his hand out.  

Gasping, Derek watched something he’d never seen before.  

Jackson was shifting.  Shifting IN FRONT of someone.  He never once allowed anyone to see him as an incubus, except for Stiles during force-shifting in incubi puberty.  Derek KNEW what he probably looked like, based on discussion, but had never once actually seen it.

The illusion slowly melted away, starting with his hands.  His well-trimmed fingernails were replaced with talon-like claws  His tanned skin gave wave for solid black skin, black as the pawn on a chessboard.  Cold blue eyes evaporated into vivid pink with striking white lines cutting through the iris.  His wings were hidden and folded under his t-shirt.  

Jackson growled under his breath.  “This is ME.  Tanned, perfect godly Whittemore body? No.  That’s probably what the kid my real parents killed was supposed to look like.  They say that’s what incubi/succubi parents do.  They…  They make their child look like the baby they kill.  So that the parents…  The parents trust the baby, and when the incubi/succubi baby get old enough, they can….  They…  They can.. “ he stammered out.

“You didn’t kill the Whittemores,” Derek was quick to point out.

“I could have,” Jackson spat back.

“You didn’t,” Derek said again, baring down on his fangs.  “You’ve never hurt anyone.  You stay away from social gatherings because you KNOW you can’t trust yourself.  Everything about you?  You’ve got control Jackson.  You’re not one of the bad guys, just because you’re a demon.  You’re Jackson Stilinksi.  That’s all you are,” he said angrily.  Standing up, he shot out claws from his hand.  “And if anyone else has a problem with MY Beta?  You’ve got me standing behind you.  I’ll walk in with you Monday morning.  Stiles will too,” he said sternly.

Jackson’s head fell.  “Lydia,” he mumbled.

Derek sat next to Jackson and clapped his hand on Jackson’s shoulder.  “If she’s meant to be with you?  Then she’s going to accept you.  If not?  Then Lydia’s not the woman I thought she was,” he explained.

Jackson sat quietly.  

At least, until Melissa walked through the front door.

“Boys!  Can you help me carry in the groceries?  Scott is such a bad son, he didn’t go shopping like he said he-” Melissa said, catching a look at Jackson.  Like Derek, it would be the first time she saw Jackson as…  Well, the real Jackson.

“Yeah.  We’ll help,” Derek said, pulling Jackson up from the seat.  

They both passed by Melissa, walking closer and closer to Melissa’s car.  

“She thought I was a freak,” Jackson said, as they popped open the back seat and started grabbing the plastic bags.

Derek sighed.  “You’re going to have reactions like that.  People have NEVER seen the real you before.  It’s going to be a surprise.  Give them more than 10 seconds.  Don’t be a dumbass.  Melissa knows you’re a demon.  If you can’t trust her, you’re never going to be able to go out to school like this,” he said, as they finished grabbing the groceries.

Jackson sighed, not replying as they walked back inside the Hale household.  

The two took the groceries into the kitchen, plopped them down on the dining room table, and started putting things away like they always do.  Melissa stepped in to help, standing across the table from Jackson and glancing him over.

Derek and Jackson both could feel her stares.  

“You have…  Pink eyes?” Melissa asked.

Jackson glanced up.  “Y..  Yeah.  Incubi have…  Pink eyes.  Succubi have violet eyes.  When we’re in disguise, we’ve got blue eyes to make us look more…  Human,” he answered.

Melissa smiled warmly.  “They are the most gorgeous color, like a lotus.  I used to have a lotus garden, back when I was still with Scott’s father, and I could never get them that kind of color,” she said, turning away as she put the several cans of sauces away in their pantry.  

Mildly, Jackson curved a smile in the corner of his mouth.

“What would you two like to do for dinner?  I’m in the mood for lasagna, but that would take too long.  How about we go to Zenni’s?” Melissa offered.  

Jackson froze.  

“I think that sounds delicious.  What about you Jackson?  Want to join us for a night out?” Derek asked.

It took a few minutes of silent unpacking of groceries, Jackson let out a sigh.  “Fine.  I’m getting the Tour of Italy though, and you can kiss my ass about the price,” he answered.

+++++

The next week of school had been interesting.  Jackson came to school as a full demon.

Stiles was FURIOUS with Derek for supporting it, after feeling Jackson’s emotions be all over the place in a mixture of fear, anxiety and pain.  Derek assured Stiles that it was Jackson’s decision, and they NEEDED to support him.  He said that life “wasn’t always about happy endings or being happy all the time”.  

In the end, Stiles relented to the Alpha’s decision.  “I trust you”, he finally admitted after long hours of arguing in bed.  

So they went through with it.  

There were…  The expected reactions.  Some good, some bad, some so toxic that the CDC needed to be involved.  Though considering that the lacrosse team formed a barrier around him at all times, the religious nuts kept their distance.  A few teachers were less than thrilled at the one and only demon in the school becoming a “distraction”, but Derek knew that Talia’s “talk” with the administration would stop any and all attempts at discrimination.  Not to mention the fact that she threatened to pull all funding from Beacon Hills if anything happened to “Her Jackson”.

Lydia?  Well, Lydia was still a work in progress.  She explained that she needed time to adjust to what everything meant for them, and also to prevent herself from tearing into Jackson for not telling her the truth sooner.  She wanted to be with him.  She also wanted to beat him senseless.  So, not much had really changed in the slightest.

The atmosphere certainly changed, but at least all things seemed to be normal.  At least, as normal as being in Beacon Hills seemed to be.

Enjoying the peace and quiet after all the excitement, Derek was enjoying his alone time, reading a book on his bed and waiting for Stiles to get back from his and Isaac’s day at the movies.  They were marathoning the Harry Potter series for the price of one film, and Isaac had never seen half of them.  Though Derek wasn’t an idiot.  Isaac and Danny had broken up again, and Stiles was trying to take his mind off the worst relationship in the history of mankind.

“Derek,” Scott said, as he pushed the door open to Derek and Stiles’ room. 

Looking up from his book, Derek was surprised to see both Scott and Allison stepping in.  This was their date night, and usually they were out somewhere by this time of night.

“Hey, what’s up?” Derek asked, putting a mark in his book and swinging off the bed.

Scott glanced away.  “We’re here to ask for your blessing to get married.  This weekend,” he asked darkly.

Derek’s eyebrows shot up.  “You what?” he asked, waiting for the punchline.

“We’re asking for your blessing, as our pack Alpha…  To..  Allow us to break Courting agreements already in place and go straight to marriage.  You’re the only one who can do it Derek.  The ONLY one,” Allison said, clutching Scott’s hand tightly.

Standing up from the bedside, Derek folded his arms.  “Why?  Courting is in place to make sure that-”

“Allison is pregnant,” Scott exclaimed.

Derek went deathly silent.  

“It was an accident.  I… I didn’t even…  You know, do the thing we do when we want to breed.  We used protection, we did EVERYTHING by the books when we could finally have sex.  I…  I didn’t want this to happen.  I’ve screwed everything up,” Scott said, dropping his head in shame.

Allison gripped his hand.  “If…  If Scott broke the courting laws, even by accident, he’d-”

Derek immediately shot to their sides.  He glared at them both angrily.

“Allison, you have no obligation to keep the child.  You also have every choice at this time to leave Scott.  He broke the courting laws.  This is YOUR choice,” Derek said.

She shook her head. “I want this.  I want to keep the baby and I want to be with Scott.  I still want to go to college, and I still want to follow my dreams.  None of that is changing,” Allison said immediately.

Derek then turned to Scott.  “You’re going to be a father.  Do you realize how important of a thing this is?  This is not a game, even if you are just barely an adult.  With Allison going to college and doing her own thing, it will be YOU who will be taking care of the baby, AND raise the child right.  You’re her mate, you WILL put her life before your own.  You’re this baby’s father, you WILL put his or hers-”

“I know Derek,” Scott fiercely replied.  He growled under his breath.  “I had a shitty father.  I’m not going to be one.  I can hold off on being Deaton’s assistant until after the baby is old enough to go to school.  I’m NOT going to fuck this up,” he said.  His tone was deafening in Alpha-tones.  Scott was making sure that Derek knew how serious he was.

Derek took a deep breath.  “You have my blessing,” he said, reaching into his back pocket and retrieving a solid black credit card.  It was identical to the one that Talia had given Stiles and John not too long ago.  “Take this, elope.  Go somewhere FAR away, so the Argents don’t track you down easily.  I’ll tell mom, we’ll get the paperwork signed, but my word is good enough.  Spent at least two weeks on your own.  Conception would be hard to pinpoint then, and unless they can 100% prove that Scott broke courting, they can’t order a full fetal test without Allison’s blessing.  This will keep Scott out of jail,” he said, handing the card to Allison.  

Allison looked up at Derek nervously.  “My aunt Kate is not going to take this well.  She’s the kind of person who’s going to see through this and make a fuss.  You know how she is…  She already wants Scott to make his own pack.  This is..  This is something she could-,” she explained.

“You let me deal with her,” Derek said, sighing quietly.  

“How?” Allison asked, on the verge of tears.

“I’ll offer her the bite in exchange for her leaving Beacon Hills and never bothering my family again.  Including you two and your child.  She’ll have her super-strength and can have all the petty power she wants.  It’s none of my business,” Derek said, disgust coloring his words.  

Allison and Scott exchanged wary looks.  

“Go.  Let me worry about this.  You two go, get married, and get back soon.  You already took finals with the rest of us, right?” Derek asked.

They both nodded.

“Then…  Go.  Don’t worry.  Take my car, keys are on the table,” Derek said, turning away from them as he walked towards his desk.  

Derek couldn’t see it, but he was pretty sure he could feel Stiles and Allison smiling.

“We owe you, Derek,” Allison said kindly.

“Then get out of here so I can have my headache in peace,” Derek replied dully, trying not to picture being an Uncle.  He totally wasn’t already planning another bedroom in the house blueprints to be a nursery.  There was especially no way that he was nearly about to run out and tell Stiles that they were going to be Uncles and plot how to spoil the child to death.

Derek heard his bedroom door shut behind.  When he turned around, he was all alone again.  

The sound of his car revving seemed to signal their departure.  

“Have fun,” Derek said to himself.

+++++

Pretty much everyone was pissed at Derek after he explained his blessing to Scott and Allison.  Melissa had all but set him on fire, the Argents were questioning his skills and maturity as a leader, and Kate Argent was threatening to sue him.

Not that any of them had any room to complain.  Scott and Allison were adults, had declared themselves as Derek’s Alpha, which made any say in Courting all at Derek’s discretion.

Which Talia was QUICK to remind them.  She was even quicker to remind them that it was Scott and Allison’s decision to get married, and that their anger should be directed at THEM.  

Eventually, Melissa finally did calm down.  Scott would face “her seething rage” when they returned home.  Chris and his wife agreed to speak with their daughter person-to-person as well.  Kate was still infuriated, but her father forced her not to do anything until he gave his blessing.  

While they waited for Scott and Allison’s return (and while Derek waited for their “surprise” announcement about bearing a child), Derek tried to avoid everyone.  No sense in stirring the pot anymore.  

Which is how Derek found himself working on Stiles’ Jeep, which was being “difficult”, according to Stiles.  

His mate was off studying God knows what, and refused to tell anyone what he was on about.  All he knew is that it must have been some sort of VERY complicated potion of some kind.  Stiles had been ordering expensive ingredients online, always asking Derek’s permission before using his Hale family credit card.  Whatever Wrymwood was, it should not cost nine hundred dollars for a vial the size of Derek’s thumb.

“Derek?” Isaac asked.

Smacking his head on the top of the Jeep’s hood, Derek groaned.  “Yes?” he asked, growling under his breath as he rubbed his head.

Isaac walked over to the front of the Jeep, where he took a seat on the opposite side that Derek was working on.  

“Can I ask your opinion on something?” Isaac asked, as Derek went back to checking the Jeep’s oil and steering fluid.  

“Shoot,” Derek replied.

Sighing loudly, Isaac frowned as he folded his arms together.  “I don’t think I should be dating Danny.  At first I was HAPPY to  say “fuck werewolf mating” and try to do my own thing, but…  It feels all WRONG now.  Whatever Danny and I used to have?  It’s fucking gone now.  Everytime we get together again, I’m HAPPY because it means I have my free will, but…  By the time we’re a day or two into it, I feel empty, Danny’s angry because I feel empty, and ultimately everything just goes wrong…” he explained.  

Derek stopped working.

“May I be blunt?” Derek asked.

“Absolutely!  That’s why I asked!” Isaac responded, glaring at Derek.

Derek wiped his greasy hands on his already massively stained shirt.  “There are times to fight our instinct, and there are times when we shouldn’t.  The way you’re fighting the mating system?  You’re a fucking moron,” he answered.

“HEY,” Isaac shouted.

“You wanted my opinion, and I asked if I could be blunt,” Derek said, setting his fierce red eyes on Isaac.  “The mating system in our brain is there for a reason.  It shows us who is most compatible with us, so that we can become a team.  Mates are more than just for breeding and relationships.  They complete what we lack as a person,” he explained.

Isaac rolled his eyes.  “Seriously?  I call bullshit.  What were YOU missing?  What am I missing?” he asked.

“If I hadn’t listened to my instinct and mated with Stiles, I probably would have never realized I was gay.  I’d be miserable, not knowing what I was missing in my life,” Derek said seriously.  He growled under his breath.  “I’d be NOTHING.  Don’t insult it.  The mating system made my life WHOLE,” he exclaimed.

Feeling the waves of the Alpha-tone, Isaac backed away.  “Sorry…” he whispered.

Derek shook his head.  “Isaac, let me be simpler.  Are you HAPPY with Danny?  Would you ever want to have children with him?” he asked.

Isaac glanced down at his feet.  “No,” he answered.

“Then quit wasting your time with him.  Let your heart and your brain tell you who the right person in your life should be,” Derek said quietly.

Sighing, Isaac shook his head.  “Derek, I don’t like…  I don’t like not having control over who I-”

“It’s not giving up control.  It’s trusting your inner self and letting your heart choose,” Derek said, cutting Isaac off.

Still unsatisfied, Isaac huffed as he kicked off Stiles’ Jeep.  “Whatever,” he said quietly.  “I agree with you on Danny though.  I’m breaking up with him for good, and I’m not taking him back.  Thanks for being honest with me,” he said, as he made his way angrily back into the house.  

Derek sighed, going back to Stiles’ vehicle.  “Shelia, is it wrong that I’m happy that Isaac’s pissed at me?” he asked quietly.

+

Graduation came and went.  

True to his word, Isaac and Danny were no longer an item.  Danny went on to date someone named Ethan, and the two were much happier.  Isaac hadn’t found his mate yet, and he’d never admit it to Derek, but he seemed to be talking in hushed tones with a demon girl named Kira at a local coffee house.  The one time that Stiles and Derek had spotted Isaac with her, a good three months after graduation, he had the same kind of gleeful look that Derek had in his younger years with Stiles.

Scott and Allison came back home in time to walk the line at their high school graduation.  It was three weeks later when they announced Allison’s pregnancy.  Thankfully, by that time, Derek already had moved the pack out of Talia’s home and into their newly built mansion that was in his and Stiles’ name.  Because unfortunately, both Melissa and Chris were FURIOUS.  They’d make up within the span of days, more excited about their grandchild than being mad at their kids over something that they couldn’t do anything about anyway.  By the time Thanksgiving came around, Derek was happy to inform them that he smelled a boy.  A boy that was going to be an Alpha.

Stiles and Derek were married.  True to Sties’ word, it was a very short private ceremony followed by a very public reception.  The Wedding gifts had been insane from the local packs, ranging from expensive pieces of art to bits of pottery that were centuries old.  They made their first dance to Nirvana, a collaborated choice that the two of them actually managed to agree on. They honeymooned in Europe, and toured around the country for the better part of a month.

Jackson and Lydia were still an item, always the bickering couple as always.  He still went out in public as a demon, which surprisingly sparked a wide variety of other demons “coming out”.  Soon, Beacon Hills was filled with the first “Daes”, or the newly coined political term for Demons who interacted peacefully with humans.  Dae laws became more and more commonplace as the Dae population continued to assist humanity in positive ways.

Stiles, Allison, Jackson and Isaac all were accepted into college.  It was a local college that had once been a community college, turned into full 4-year bachelor programs.  Not a glimmering college of perfection, but perfect for local commutes and keeping their new pack together.  Naturally, Allison took her freshman level online classes for her first semester due to her pregnancy, but would be attending full time with the rest of their family after the baby was born.  Stiles was going for a Psychology Major, minoring in Chemistry while taking multiple Biology classes as electives.  Allison hadn’t decided officially, but liked the idea of nursing.  Jackson would be going into business, explaining that Stiles was going to need his help running the business.  Isaac? Nobody dared to ask, because nobody had expecting him going.  

Derek, as the pack Alpha, didn’t have to work and wasn’t expected to work. He and stiles were already discussing adoption to help ease his boredom, but in the meantime, Derek had started a side-business automotive shop out of a small building he’d built on the new house’s land.

Preparing to be a full-time dad, Scott was still working for Deaton and opting to wait on college for a few years.  He was happy to still be working with animals, but not in the full capacity he wanted to.  Though in his free time, Deaton was happy to teach him secrets from his own magic book to be helpful to the pack in other ways.  By the time his friends were in college, Scott was making house calls for magical ailments.

Time added up, and before they all knew it, Christmas was upon them alongside the end of the first semester of college.

Gathered in their warm new home, carpeted in a warm brown and painted in a dark red, Lydia, Talia and Melissa gave it a very rustic earth-tone design aesthetic.  Meanwhile, Derek, Stiles and Scott were the one who bought the furniture, INSISTING that it was Laz-E-Boy or they’d all three mutiny.  

Derek and Stiles both wore hideous Christmas Sweaters, sipping cocoa as the rest of their family was busily unwrapping presents.

Scott and Allison finished unwrapping a large box, which turned out to be an expensive pre-assembled crib from a name brand woodcarver.

“Oh my God, it’s GORGEOUS!” Allison exclaimed, rubbing her already growing bump.  Seven months along, and Derek had been right on the money with his guess.  Well, except for the part where there were TWIN boys, both Alphas.  He’d been half right, at least.

Stiles immediately pointed at Lydia, who was sat next to Jackson on the couch across from them.  “Thank her.  Apparently, she knows everything,” he said.

“Not everything.  Just 99.95% of everything,” Lydia replied smugly, smiling as she pulled a gorgeous scarf from a gift that Jackson had given her.

“As nice as that is, it’s ultimately useless.  The pups are going to want to sleep with their mother and father until they’re at least five.  Sorry,” Peter said, sipping another cup of warm cider next to Talia.

Allison spun around.  “At least the nursery will look ADORABLE!” she spat back.

“Until they start teething, sweetheart,” Talia said, pointing at Derek.  “When he was four, he chewed a hole in the wall and then proceeded to destroy all of our living room furniture,” she said, raising her own cup of cider in Allison’s direction.

Melissa snorted.  “Oh hun, just wait until they want to start marking their territory.  Little boy werewolves are such a MESS.  When Scott was five, he went into his and Derek’s first bedroom together and-”

“MOM!” Scott shouted, growling in her direction.

The room chuckled loudly, Derek going so far as to snort loudly in his cup of cocoa.  

Calming down, the last of the gifts were opened, while John and Isaac walk around and start cleaning the wrapping paper and stuffing them in garbage bags.  The rest of the party began migrating to the basement entertainment center for their 3 hour movie marathon.

Except for Derek and Stiles, who sat their cocoa aside and stopped Peter from joining the rest of them.

“Oh, uh…  Peter?  Derek and I have two more gifts for you, if you..  If you don’t care,” Stiles said, pulling Peter away from the staircase and towards the front door.

Peter cocked an eyebrow.  “I’m concerned,” he said humorously, folding his arms.  

Stiles rolled his eyes.  “Just shut up and open the presents,” he ordered, turning to Derek.  In his husband’s hands were two tiny packages, no bigger than a cell phone.  

“This one first,” Derek said, handing him the one in the left of his hand.

Peter grabbed it and tore the paper off.  Opening up the box, he retrieved a small vial of golden liquid.  

“What’s this?” Peter asked.

“Just drink it, asshole.  We don’t have all night,” Stiles said, tapping his foot impatiently.  

Rolling his eyes, Peter did as he was told, uncorking the top and downing the vial in one gulp.  “There.  Now what?  Does my hair turn grey or-”

Peter’s eyes went wide.  The Beta blue eyes shattered in an instant, replaced with Omega Gold.  His heart thudded, his body shook, and Peter fell to his knees.  Coughing loudly, he clutched at his chest, groaning painfully as a white hot fire spread throughout this body.  

The process took all of five minutes to coax itself out of Peter’s system.  His eyes revered to their blue coloring, and he looked up to Stiles, trembling.  “Stiles…  Stiles please tell me that you…  I feel..  It’s gone, Stiles..  It’s… It’s…” he stammered.

Stiles put his hand on Peter’s shoulder.  “It’s called a Shredder.  My mother created it as a way to purge magical effects from a person’s body, I found it in her book as one of her experimental treatments.  Now….  After some serious research, I found out that Alpha Orders can be considered a magical effect.  So…  Any Alpha Orders that might have been in your body are…  Well, they’re gone now.  Took a long time to get it right though, you should thank Derek and Scott for being my guinea pigs,” he said happily.

Tears collected in the corner of Peter’s eyes.  He barely felt as Derek plopped the other present into his right hand.

“Crim and your step-daughter are expecting you tomorrow for Christmas Day, we all wanted to surprise you.  Stiles just finished the potion about a week ago after we confirmed that it would work, and we thought this would be the perfect time.  This is a ticket to get you to Alaska.  I think it’s time I repaid you for everything wonderful that you’ve done for my life,” Derek said, pulling Peter up to his feet and hugging him tightly.

Stiles side-hugged him as well.  “It’s your turn to have a life.  Go, enjoy.  We promise not to burn down the house while you’re away.  Just call us and make sure to  check in when you’re not releasing decades of pent up sexual frustration with your mate,” he joked.

Peter hugged them both back tightly.  “Derek…  Derek, I don’t think you know how much this means to me.  Stiles, I both want to wring your neck for the sex joke, but then kiss you until it makes Derek unbearably uncomfortable,” he said, shuddering.

They both smiled warmly, releasing Peter from their hugs.

“Go and have a good time.  Don’t come back until you either decide to move them down here, or until Scott and Allison’s babies are born,” Stiles said, pushing Peter out of the front door with Derek supporting him.

After another round of thanks, Peter was off. Derek and Stiles didn’t question when Peter didn’t get into his car and instead chose to run the entire way to the local airfield.  

“I think he was pretty happy,” Stiles said, leaning into Derek as they shut the door behind them.  

Derek chuckled.  “I suppose,” he mumbled quietly.  Shaking his head, he plopped down on the couch next to Stiles, where they both laid into each other.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the finale will finish off tomorrow! What kind of story would you like to see next? A cheerleading AU? An AU where Derek lives in a cave with his pack in the wild, when Stiles/Scott comes to join him? Perhaps an AU involving transgender youth? Au Pair AU? Let me know what you'd like to see me write next! :)


	13. Chapter 13

Sixteen years and one bushy goatee that Stiles loathed later, Derek firmly decided that life couldn't get much better. 

His five year old son Kayle, an adopted werewolf and his third child, had finally learned how to howl.  Which, the fuzzy haired blond child was intent on perfecting.  

So while Derek was sat cross-legged on the couch, Kayle was on the ground, throwing his head back and letting loose a long howl from his lungs.  Derek chuckled as Kayle kept cracking his voice.  

Kayle pouted and tried to show off his baby fangs.  "IT'S NOT FUNNY PAPA!  I'm DA BIG BAD WOLF! he shouted, clearly offended.

Derek smirked, grabbing Kayle with one hand and sitting him in his lap.  "Big bad wolf huh?  Well what does that make me?" he said, holding Kayle in a gigantic bear hug, while the child struggled to get free.

"NOO, NOO.  YOU DA BIGGER BAD WOLF!" Kayle squealed, as Derek smooched him on the cheek.

Kayle's laughter was like music to Derek's ears.  The boy had been a newborn when he came to their doorstep, roughly 4 years earlier.  He'd been in a basket, and Derek immediately went into insane Alpha "MINE" territory, and made the boy their son.  Not that Stiles would have ever minded, but the connection between Kayle and Derek was something stronger.  They'd both imprinted, like a real father and son should have at birth.  Which is why he'd given Kayle his name, in memory of Derek's own father.

Finally pushing Derek away, Kayle giggled as Derek tickled his tummy.

"STOP IT PAPA!  NOT FAIR!  NOT FAIR!  YOU'RE TOO BIG!" Kayle squealed.

Their colorful moment together came to a crashing halt as the front door slammed open.

Derek gasped playfully for Kayle.  "Who's at the door?  Come on, use your nose!  Papa will get you a chocolate milk if you get it right!" he said to Kayle, popping the child slowly on the nose.

Sniffing into the air, Kayle had to focus with his eyes shut, eager to earn his treat.  Then, they both shot open gleefully.  "ITS JEREMY AND JOSHY!" he exploded, nearly leaping off Derek's lap in excitement.

Sure enough, Derek watched Scott's 15 year-old sons casually stroll through the main entrance, grappling back and forth with their fists.  They had fiery red, almost going on orange hair, both spiked up in opposite directions.  (Allison assured Scott that her mother's side was full of red heads).  Josh had a lot of piercings in his ears, eyes, nose and lips, while Jeremy required glasses from his human side of genetics.  Josh and Jeremy  were ridiculously competitive in everything, eventually becoming co-captains of the lacrosse team.

"NO, I'M GOING TO BE THE ALPHA!  I'M THE BEST AT SPORTS!" Josh screeched, gripping Jeremy's fist hard enough to crack diamonds.

"OH YEAH?  WELL I'M NOT SHIT FOR BRAINS, SO I'M GOING TO BE THE ALPHA!" Jeremy shot  back.

Kayle gasped, covering his mouth.  "PAPA!  He said a no-no word!" he said, as though Jeremy were Satan incarnate.

Derek rolled his eyes.  Scott was fine with the boys swearing, so he bit his tongue and his desire to smack them both upside the head for saying that in front of his Kayle.

The twins both growled, completely ignoring everyone else as their grappling show of power went on and on.

Derek sighed, rubbing his forehead.  None of his adopted children had been alphas, so naturally that meant that thanks to the pack hierarchy, either Joshua or Jeremy were going to inherit the Hale pack.  A decision he'd have to make eventually, before taking one of them to Alpha training.

"Uncle Derek!  Who's the better twin?!  Come on, PICK already!" Josh growled, flashing his red eyes at Derek.

"YEAH.  I'M SICK OF PLAYING SECOND FIDDLE TO THIS ASSHOLE!" Jeremy added.

"ANOTHER NO NO WORD!" Kayle said, covering his ears as he moved towards Derek, hopping in his father's lap.

Derek groaned.  "How about the two of you go do homework before your mom and dad get home from work?  First one done gets 5 respect points," he muttered.

Like a flash, both twins were gone, leaving behind their lacrosse equipment next to the staircase.  More laundry for him to do later.  He hated his laundry weeks, because Josh and Jeremy were downright pigs.

Kayle sniffed the air again.  "SISSY!  BRUBBA!" he said, looking to the front door eagerly.

Smiling in relief, Derek was happy the kids were home early for once.  Stiles hogged them at night with Sara's graduation pending, and he was totally keeping count.  Though that wasn't the reason he'd hoped they skipped their usual diner retreat.

"LIAM.  COME ON, QUIT MOPING AND TAKE IT LIKE A MAN!" a woman shouted.

The first to step through the threshold was his and Stiles' eighteen year old daughter.  Unlike the rest of his children or any of the children in the home, Sara was a human.  In an attempt to get through the werewolf adoption agency, both Derek and Stiles had to become registered foster parents first.  Before they could move on to the next step, Sara lost both of her parents at the age of five in a car crash.  She'd meant to be with them for only a few months until the state could figure out what to do with her.  By the time such an option came around, they'd both agreed to adopt her.  She was family, and Derek had bonded within three days.  Though she was Stiles' baby girl, and those two had the REAL father/daughter connection.  Not that she didn't love Derek, it was just painfully obvious that she had more in common with Stiles than she did with him.

"SISSY!" Kayle shouted, hopping off Derek's lap again and moving to the cheerleading-clad big sister that he adored.

"KAYLE!  Awwww!" Sara shouted, picking up Kayle and rubbing their noses together.  Despite not being a wolf, she'd long since picked up how to act in a family full of them.  Stiles and Allison had helped her out when it came to acting around a baby werewolf.

Kayle lapped a long lick on her face.  "Missed you Sissy.  How come you gotta go to school?" he asked, personally offended by her loss.

Before she could answer, Derek saw his teenage son walk through as well.  Another set of papers was stuck in his hand, and Derek could smell the sense of disappointment waving off him.  His neatly cared for blond hair was still sopping wet from the 7th period lacrosse showers.  He hadn't bothered to re-style it, which means he sat in the showers depressingly for probably an hour.  It was definitely Liam's thing.  When he was wet, he was in trouble, or about to cause trouble.   

Already taller than his bigger sister, Liam was hobbling on the age of 15.  He'd been the first wolf that he and Stiles had adopted, about six months after Sara became part of their family.  Whereas Sara had been five, Liam was only 2 when he'd joined them.  His pack, somewhere in Southern California, had given up full custody and placed him with the were council's care.  Liam's mother just happened to be a fairly dangerous werewolf that was hunted down weeks after and killed, and the pack didn't want her offspring in their house.  Peter made sure that Liam found his way to them, knowing Liam was going to need a good home.

"I take it the Earth Science test didn't go well?" Derek asked.

Kayle seemed to sense Liam's sadness, and hopped over to his older brother.

"No," Liam said, sighing grimly as he moved towards Derek and handed him his latest test.  He read the bright red pen in the top corner.

_54% - You can do BETTER Liam, I know you can.  FOCUS. :  Crim Hale_

Derek looked up to Liam.  "Uncle Crim is right, you know.  Liam, what's going on with you?" he asked.  P

eter, Crim and their stepdaughter had long since moved back to Beacon HIlls, with Crim teaching pretty much all of the physical sciences at Beacon Hills High.

"Don't be mean to Brubba!" Kayle said, shooting Derek a nasty look.

Liam nuzzled his nose in Kayle's neck, sighing.  "He's not being mean K.K.  Dad's right, I just..  I didn't study hard enough," he admitted.

"Was it that new game?  I've been hearing you up all hours of the night with Josh and Jeremy," Derek asked firmly.

"Yes sir," Liam admitted.  

Unlike any other home in America, it was useless lying to Derek OR Stiles.  Their werewolf and wisp senses would "tingle".  All their kids knew better.

Derek sighed.  "I assume Crim is going to give you a makeup test?" he asked.

"Yes sir.  He'll average the grades together, just like everyone else in the class who failed.  Which was...  Me and nobody else," Liam said, sighing painfully as Kayle tried to nuzzle the sad out of his big brother.

"Then you'll not be playing that game until the makeup test is over, AND you will help Dad with dinner for the rest of the week," Derek said, rather than ask.

"Yes sir," Liam responded.  

Derek mentally groaned.  The "sir" thing made him feel too strict.  Though it was a matter of respect that he knew Liam needed in his life.  At least, that's what his therapist said.  It worked well enough, which kept his bouts of unexplained childhood rage under control when he came into his teenage years.

Liam cocked an eyebrow.  "Can I still go out with Mara this weekend?" he asked.

Derek smirked, figuring out how to best turn this into a learning opportunity for Liam not to get too lost in his games.  "Yes, but you're taking Uncle Scott and Uncle Jackson as your chaperones.  That should be more than punishment enough," he said strictly.

Mara was Isaac and Kira's daughter, who was a full Kitsune.  So naturally, Courting Laws were in full effect since Mara was not a werewolf.  Derek allowed them to skip most of the "ridiculous" steps, instead just having them date with chaperoned for a full year, followed by another full year of regular dating before they could even TOUCH the idea of engagement.  He knew that Mara and Liam were mates, but he didn't want them running off until at least 18.  If he and Stiles could wait that long, so could those two.

Liam seemed to mildly question the idea of an unbearable evening with both Jackson AND Scott.  As Derek's and Stiles' oldest son, Liam got the butt of MANY jokes out of the pack.  Though Scott was the worst to deal with.  He took pleasure in embarrassing the newest generation of the Hale pack, including his niece and his niece's mate.

"I think...  I think Mara and I are going to want to wait till I'm not in the doghouse," Liam admitted.

Derek snorted.  "Don't blame you, son," he said quietly.

Liam, Kayle and Sara found themselves comfortable on the couch, watching as Kayle continued to practice-howl.  Though before long, Sara began glancing around nervously.

"Where's Dad at?  I know that everyone else is still at work, but..  Dad's usually home by now," Sara asked quietly.

Kayle stopped howling.  "Daddy went to pick up-"

Derek covered Kayle's mouth.  "Daddy and I would like to keep that a surprise Kayle, remember?" he said.

Nodding with his mouth still covered, Kayle then pulled down Derek's hand.  "Sorry Papa," he said quietly.

"No way.  Dad ACTUALLY trusted Pops with a secret?" Liam shouted.

"The end of the world is near!" Sara play-screamed, covering her mouth as she fell off the couch exaggeratedly.  

"OH NO!" Kayle said, genuinely concerned for Sara as he leapt off the couch and went to comfort his fallen sister's side.

Derek huffed.  "Do I even have to guess who the favorite parent is?" he said, faking offense.

His existential crisis came to its eventual end.  One last time, they could all hear the front door open up.

Derek turned to Kayle and Liam, whose noses both wrinkled.

"Who's that?  I smell dad and...  Like 30 gallons of tears mixed with severe depression," Liam said, covering his nose.

Kayle pouted, hiding in Sara's chest.  "I don't like it..." he said, trying to drown on the smell with his sister's scent.

Derek stood up, folding his arms.  "All of you be nice, okay?  Breathe through your mouth if you need to," he asked quietly.

The kids didn't have to wait long to see what Derek was talking about.

Sixteen years and a change into psychiatrist-like outfits later, Stiles Hale hadn't aged a day since he'd turned 18 with his freaky wisp genes.  He walked inside of the living room, hefting a large piece of luggage.  

Next to him was a teenager, in solid black everything.  From his neck-length hair all the way down to his jeans, pretty much everything he wore was black.  Except for his scarlet red eyes and a massive white bandage over his left cheek.      

"So this is the living room, people come and go as much as they want.  We're getting pretty big, but there's always plenty of room somewhere!" Stiles exclaimed.  

The teen turned to the living area, suddenly the focus of everyone's attention.  He didn't say a word, retreating back into his hoodie and stepping behind Stiles.

"Hey everyone!  Glad you came home, I'd like for you all to meet David," Stiles said, pushing the teen forward, much to his irritation.  He began pointing everyone out to David.  "Sir blondie is Liam, the brunette is Sara, Kayle's the little one and Mr. Bushy Goatee Douchebag is Derek," he explained.

"Hi," David said, raising a hand in a half-wave.  

Liam turned to Derek.  "Hey Pops...  Is he?"

Derek nodded.  "Everyone, David is going to be living with us from now on.  Stiles and I adopted him a few weeks back.  We wanted to make sure all the paperwork went through, just like with Kayle.  So...  Say hello to your new brother," he said, stepping forward.  

The atmosphere changed instantly.

Sara was the first one to act, stepping up from the floor and running over to hug David's neck.  "AWW!  Another baby brother!  Welcome!" she shouted, kissing him on both sides of the face before stopping to look at his eyes.  "An Alpha?  Wow!  Josh and Jeremy are going to hate your guts!" she said playfully.

David raised an eyebrow, nodding through Sara's ramblings.

Up next was Liam who held out a hand to David.  They shook silently.  "Hey, welcome to the family.  To cut down on the same-sex parents confusion, Dad/Daddy is Stiles back there, and Pops/Papa is Derek.  Don't bother lying to either of them EVER, cuz Dad is a wisp and and Pops is a freaking lie detector," he explained.

A look of shock came over David's face, and he immediately turned to Derek.  

"Wait...  You and...  Stiles are...  Married?" David asked cautiously.

Derek smiled, nodding.  "Yeah.  Going on 17 years soon," he said, knowing immediately why David asked that.  It was all in his paperwork.

Kayle interrupted their moment, pulling on David's hoodie.  The teen faced downwards, glancing at him curiously.  

"How come you smell like crying?" Kayle inquired, blinking as he sniffed and inspected his new brother

Laughing, Stiles picked up Kayle immediately and started smooching him on the head.  "Okay, so everyone's met everyone!  Derek, why don't you show David to his room, and I'll round up the kids to get dinner rolling.  David likes Italian, so I thought we'd do a triple meat lasagna and some veal parmigiana," he said happily.

"My favorite," Derek said, moving over and hefting up David's bags as though they were nothing.  He signaled his head towards the staircase.  "Third floor," he said.

The two moved up the staircase, passing by the second floor.

"First floor is the common area.  Living room, kitchen, dining room, etcetera.  Second floor is the McCalls.  Scott is our pack's second in command, and he's got a pair of twins with his wife Allison.  They're trying for more right now.  Empty nest syndrome is looming, ater all.  You can just call him Uncle Scott, he and I are brothers.  If he asks you to pull his finger, back away slowly," Derek explained, snorting at the recollection of Kayle finding out what that meant not a few months earlier.

"O..Okay," David replied.

"Fourth floor is for your Uncle Jackson and Aunt Lydia.  Your Uncle Isaac and Aunt Kira live up there as well.  Mara, your cousin and Liam's mate, lives there with Xin.  That's Isaac's and Jackson's children respectively.

They moved into the third floor, which was lined with at least half a dozen rooms.  "Stiles, myself, Liam, Sara and Kayle live on this floor.  This is the Hale floor, so it's where you'll be living as well.  You're free to have your own room, which is your private space.  All rooms come with locks and keys, and is soundproofed.  We respect the idea of privacy in our pack, but we ask that you not abuse it," Derek explained, as they walked down the hallway.

David glanced inside some of the open rooms.  

He could guess the one with the tidal wave of messy clothes, video games and food wrappers was probably Liam's.  The neat one with gymnastic and cheer trophies was most definitely Sara's.  David had to do a double take at the massive bed that made up what he assumed was Stiles' and Derek's.  Then there was the nursery that had been converted into a toddlers room, with power rangers and soft plush around a tiny tea table.

They stopped at the one right next to Kayle's.  Derek fished out a key from his pocket, unlocked it, and immediately palmed it into David's hand.  "This is your room.  We're still in the process of getting you registered at school, so you and I can spend some time tomorrow buying things for it.  I apologize that it's so bland, but I thought you'd rather like picking things out for yourself," he said, as he pushed the door open.

David had to gasp a little. 

He had...  THINGS.

A bed, covered in warm quilts.  A desk, already fashioned out with a desktop computer and a bag.  There was a TV, albeit small and outdated, but STILL a TV.

Derek put David's things on his bed.  "Make yourself at home, you're family now," he said, smiling, as he unzipped one of the suitcases.  He pulled out the articles of clothing and piled them up next to his chest of drawers.   "I know you're an Alpha, but I do ask that you keep Alpha-things to a minimum.  Scott's sons are Alphas as well, and I want to keep the peace.  For the time being I am the Alpha of this pack, and what I say goes.  No, I don't know who is going to succeed me yet, but you can consider yourself in the running if you so choose," he explained.

An icy cold pit formed in the bottom of David's stomach.

"You've...  You've got to know, right?" David asked.

Derek didn't even bother looking over to him.   _"Of course I know,"_ he thought to himself.

"You've got to know WHY I'm such a failure, right?  Why my parents kicked me out?  Why they'd rather have an OUTSIDE Alpha than me in line for succession?" David spat.

Turning around, Derek bore his eyes into David's.

David gripped his hand into a fist.  "I'm GAY," he shouted.

Derek nodded.  "I know.  The agency explained why you were abandoned to us," he responded flatly.

Shaking, David bit the bottom of his lip.  "How...  How are you an Alpha?  How did you get to be an ALPHA and...  And get...  Get...  A..."

Without a moment of hesitation, Derek stepped forward and put both of his hands on David's shoulders.  "It was the hardest thirteen years of my life before I was able to come out and be with my mate.  I was exactly your age when it happened," he explained.  He gripped David's shoulders even tighter.  "But then...  when I was able to be myself and be in the open? Everything got better.  When the council called me about you, I...  I had to make sure you had the same opportunity," he said, with a fierce voice.

"So I can..  I can-" David stammered.

"You be yourself.  This house?  Nobody here is going to care.  Stiles is bixsexual, and I'm gay.  Your Uncle Jackson and Aunt Lydia are in a cross-species relationship, with Jackson being a Dae.  Scott and Allison are heterosexuals, but their son Josh is a gay Alpha, just like you.  My uncle Peter is gay with his mate of 30 years, Crim.  Sara is asexual.  So believe me when I say that our home is a very diverse culture," Derek said, chuckling to himself.

David raised up his red eyes and met Derek's.

"You're an Alpha.  You just heard that your newly adopted son is gay.  Why are you not flipping out like my dad did?  He beat the shit out of me," David said, clearly confused.

Derek rolled his eyes as he ruffled David's black hair.  "Because I'm not an asshole.  Unpack and come on down for dinner.  Knowing Josh and Jeremy, they're about to finish their homework and then go out for a race to earn imaginary points that I don't keep score of.  It's fun to watch," he said with a playful smile.

David nodded, still in the middle of taking everything in.  "Okay...  Uh..  Thanks...  Derek," he mumbled.

 As Derek turned away to give David a few minutes of peace, he stopped in the doorframe.

"Oh, and David?" he said, getting the teen's attention immediately.  "If you ever want to talk about anything, our bedroom door is always open," Derek explained.

David nodded.

"Seriously now...  All the kids do it, son.  Don't be a stranger," Derek said as he waltzed out the door.


	14. Thirteen Years a Friend : Part 1 of 3

Thirteen years before Stiles, Derek and Scott would ever meet?  

Thirteen years before Jackson would pull Stiles' hair for the first time?

Thirteen years before Talia and John's rocky reunion as their sons became best friends?

Two young newlyweds could be found out in the forests of Beacon Hills, wandering aimlessly.  

The taller of the two, a woman with copper brown hair down to her shoulders, and a warm red sweater covering her body, was leading the charge into the endless sway of trees.

Shorter and about 20 pounds lighter than the female, a spunky blonde haired male in a deputy's uniform was carrying a bunt cake carefully in his hands.

"Claudia...  Are you SURE you know the way?  Or is this one of your wipsy trips like on our honeymoon that ends with us getting lost and camping in the woods?" the male asked, sighing irritatingly.

Claudia laughed.  "John, I know exactly where I'm going.  A werewolf soul isn't exactly a hard thing to find.  They're here...  Three of them," she replied confidently.  

Groaning, John shook his head.  "Why are we meeting werewolves again?  I'll admit, I grew up in Oregon for most of my life and never once dealt with...  The other side of life until I met you, but...  Really? Werewolves?  Weren't the Wraiths in New York enough?!  You just HAD to get involved and save those stupid tourists didn't you?  " he shouted.

"Oh yee of little faith!" Claudia mocked, flicking John on the forehead.

"I WAS IN A CAST FOR THREE WEEKS!" John shrieked.

In an instant, Claudia pecked a kiss on John's forehead.  "Have I mentioned I love you lately?" she asked cutely.

Rolling his eyes, John brushed past his wife, being particularly attentive to the cake his wife had baked.  "Come on.  Let's go meet Sir Hero Hale the Grand," he replied sarcastically.

"What are you doing here?" a dark voice asked.

John yelped, jumping backwards and stepping beside his wife.  In his good hand, John grasped his holster.

Before him was a literal GIANT of a man.  Standing a good foot taller than either him or his wife, the stranger was clad in a black leather jacket, with punked up black hair.  A prominent goatee was on his face, accompanied by studded silver earrings.  Then there was the ring.  A massive hunk of silver around his neck, in he shape of a wolf.  

The man growled.  "This is PRIVATE property.  What are you doing here?" he bellowed.

Laughing nervously, John tried not to picture Sir Muscle cracking him like the twig he was.  "Well...  You see...  We...  Uh...  Ahahahahahahaaa..." he replied quietly.

Claudia stepped forward with a confident smirk.  "We're here to see Mr. Hale.  I hear he's quite the handsome young man, sorrowfully taken in the last few months I hear.  Much to the heartbreak of the female werewolf community.  Though...  I imagine rumors speak far too highly of him," she said playfully.

"Claudia!" John shouted, shooting his wife a raised eyebrow and one particularly pissed of spasming forehead muscle.

Then, in an instant, the giant's face transformed into a wide smile, covering his entire face.

"BWHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHA!  Oh man, I like you!  Didn't fall for the bullshit bad guy routine didja?!" he exploded, slapping his leg in a jovial pounding.

John's face melted mildly.  "I uh...  What?" he asked, watching as the menacing figure look more like a happy drunkard.

Chuckling, Claudia moved forward, offering her hand.  "Kyle Hale, I presume?  I'm Claudia Stilinksi.  This is my husband, John," she offered.

This man, this "Kyle" jogged over, shaking her hand with as much gusto as he could manage.  "Wonderful!  Lady Wisp, it's a damn pleasure.  Your reputation precedes you," he exclaimed.  He immediately turned to John, pulling him into a massive bear hug.  His cake fell, caught by Kyle's hand agily.  "You too buster!  Glad to see you both here!" he exploded,  nearly breaking John's eardrum in the process.

Claudia patiently waited for Kyle to come back up from air.  "I was so sorry to hear about your father's accident.  I understand your brother found the body?  My condolences.  It must have been difficult to find him in such a state," she said, bowing out of respect.

Laughing nervously, Kyle rubbed the back of his head.  "Yeah well...  Oh uh...  What on earth are you guys doing all the way out here?  The house is a good quarter mile in the other direction," he offered.

John slowly turned to Claudia with an angry glare.  "You did NOT-"

"Whoops," Claudia said, spinning away from John.

"You two are fun," Kyle said, guffawing as the two began bickering loudly.

+

A solid thirty minutes later, both Claudia and John finally made it to the Hale Mansion.  It was truely a stately manor, complete with a solid black Camaro.  It was the lastest model, and John's jaw dropped as he saw it, only to be tugged inside by his ear.

John would soon come to realize that Kyle Hale was a very open man.  So full of warmth, kindness, and the kind of person that had never met a stranger.  That much was obvious as Kyle put them down at the dining room table and rushed out an entire banquet of food to accompany their cake.

"SO!  What brings you folks all the way here to Beacon Hills?" Kyle asked.

John poked at what had to be the most absurdly large pot of prepped homemade mashed potatoes he'd ever seen.  

Claudia was quick to slap his hand and glare at his rude manners.  "We want to start a family, John wants to work somewhere where's he's not likely to be murdered, and I want to start a Wisp clinic.  John's family lived here at some point, so we knew it was a peaceful place to live," she replied.

"Well, that's definitely here.  Boring as FUUUUUUUCK," Kyle said, clearly distraught as he fake-sobbed into a group of steaks he'd been seasoning.  

"Are you high?" John asked?

Claudia smacked John on the back of the head.  "JOHN!" she shouted.

Kyle shook his head.  "Nah, weres can't get baked.  Trust me, I tried," he answered solemnly.  

"Oh my god," John asked, slamming his head against the wooden table.

"I said the same thing after he tried," a woman explained, groaning loudly.

John lifted up his head, watching as a woman with slick black hair glided through the living room and into the Hale kitchen.  She was wearing a minimal amount of makeup, relying on her already striking features.

"Talia, babe," Kyle said, beaming from ear to ear as she came and pressed a quick kiss into her husband's lips.  "Meet the Stilinskis, our new best friends!" he exclaimed loudly.

Rolling her eyes, Talia turned to John.  "You JUST met, right?" she asked.

"Yep," John answered.

Talia smacked Kyle on the back of the head.  "Why the hell do I ever leave you alone?" she asked.

"Because you LOOOOOvvvvvEEEEEE me!" Kyle said, bouncing his voice up and down as he took the seasoned steaks and popped outside to what John assumed was their barbeque.

Sighing, Talia shook hear head, laughing to herself.  "My little sweetwolf is a little...  Much?  But he really is a good man," Talia said, holding her hand out to John and Claudia.  "Talia Hale, Kyle is my husband.  It's lovely to meet you both," she explained.

Claudia took the hand first.  "I get the feeling you and John are cut from the same cloth.  He doesn't let me have any fun either!" she remarked, winking at Talia.

"Oh God we've got another one," Talia remarked, moving over and shaking John's hand.

John laughed.  "You?  I like you," he remarked, with a sharp handshake.

+

John barely thought about the fact that Talia and Kyle were werewolves.  No, their conversations really didn't go around that fact.  

Instead, John learned about Kyle's intense hatred for his brother Peter's "serious" nature and remarked the man had a stick constantly up his ass.  In the same breath though, Kyle swore his undying loyalty to the man.  

Then Talia explained about her job at the counseling center, which led into a discussion about John's job at the local police force.  Apparently Kyle worked on cars, fixing up junkers and selling them for a profit.  

Claudia ranted about the lack of proper zoning in Beacon Hills for both commercial and supernatural.  Because really, ripping out bad memories and tearing into the human heart and soul  shouldn't be THAT hard to find a location for.  It's not like she would be summoning THAT many demons either...

Though as the night went on, the stay had to come to an end.  

As they all said their goodbyes, planning for another gathering that weekend, John and Claudia made their way off the front porch and back into the pitch black woods.  Thankfully, Talia had given them directions to get back to the main road.

"They were nice!  That Kyle is such a riot," Claudia remarked.

John nodded.  "Still not convinced he's not high," he mumbled under his breath.  

"Oh shush you, you LIKED them.  You and Talia are practically the same person!  Always stifling the free willed!" Claudia said, flinging her hand across her forehead dramatically.

He rolled his eyes in response.  "Whatever.  All I know is that you are NEVER navigating for us again," John said, hiding his smile.

"ONE TIME AND I'M MARKED FOR LIFE!" Claudia screamed.


	15. Thirteen Years a Friend : Part 2 of 3

Years of friendship passed between the Hales and Stilinski.  Late night barbeques, Sunday afternoons at the local lake fishing and swimming, ceaseless car talk between Kyle and John, and a triple friendship between Claudia, Talia, and a new family in town called the McCalls.  

Though as the years passed and the youthful immaturity gave way to more “adult” thoughts and wants.

Most notably, the idea of children and starting a family.

 _“I want no less than twelve kids and a family full of love!”_ Kyle had exploded one night.  He even brought out the idea of adopting werewolf kids.  Talia seemed to share the desire for a large family, and was right behind him.

 _“I’d want my kids to have brothers and sisters.  Friends they can count on for their whole life,”_ Claudia added on that evening’s conversation.  John, as an orphan himself thanks to a drunken father figure and an insane mother that beat him, DEFINITELY wanted to adopt.  He didn’t care if it were human, werewolf, or even a demon, all he wanted was a chance to save some child from a terrible life like he’d been saved from.

Though one thing was certain.  

The Hales and Stilinskis wanted their children to grow up together and share their friendship.  So within three months of each other, both Claudia and Talia were with child.  Mrs. McCall, Claudia and Talia’s newest friend, wasn’t far behind.  Apparently her husband, a newly appointed Alpha in his family, had insisted they start a family as soon as possible.

Which was how John found himself dashing out of a hospital elevator, in full uniform.  Running down the hallway, he stopped at the maternity ward check in station breathing in and out to calm himself down, but also not realizing he’d lost his hat in the process.  “John Stilinksi!  I…  I’m here for Kyle and Talia Hale!” he exclaimed.

The nurse, a large woman with the brightest smile imaginable, nodded in the left side.  “Room 403, Mr. Hale told me to expect you.  Go on through darlin’,” she answered.

John beamed, hustling to the west side of the hospital and finding Room 403 with general ease.  Not bothering to knock, John pushed the door open.

The scene was lovely.  Kyle sat on the bed next to Talia, where they were both hovering over the coos and very talkative bundle of joy.

They were in their own little world, and John caught Kyle wiping away a fresh set of tears, not realizing John was in the room at all

“You, young man, are never allowed to be unhappy, you hear me?  Your Uncle Peter and I had enough of that growing up.  So you just come tell mommy and I when you’re hurting, alright?  Daddy will rip that bad people’s balls off,” Kyle said lovingly, taking the child from Talia and pressing their foreheads together.  “You hear me?  You be who you want to be.  Daddy and Mommy won’t care one bit!” he quietly sobbed, holding his son as tight as he could without hurting him.

John smiled.  For as obnoxious, overly optimistic, and zealous as he was, that really was the kind of man Kyle was on the inside.  Kind-hearted and protective to a fault.

“Should I come back later?” John mouthed to Talia, as the woman finally caught sight of him.

“Kyle, John’s here,” Talia said.

Spinning to face his friend, Kyle beamed.  “John!  So you finally got off shift!  Come over, come meet our baby boy!” he boasted loudly, hopping off the side of Talia’s bed.  

He brought the baby to John and put the baby boy in the man’s arms.  

“Did you decide on a name finally?” John asked.

Kyle nodded, shifting the blankets that had wrapped up the child like a cocoon so that John could see him.  “Derek, after Talia’s grandfather.  Johnathan after his daddy’s very best friend and his honorary Uncle.  Derek Johnathan Hale,” he finished.

John felt his heart THUD very loudly.  “You did NOT,” he said, unable to hold back his surprise.

“Talia’s idea, but I supported it 1000x over,” Kyle said, finally getting the blankets just right.  “We’d like for you to be his Godfather with his Uncle Peter.  Naturally, Claudia would be his Godmother,” Kyle said.

“I’d be honored,” John said, admiring the little bundle.  Much like his father, Derek spouted a full head of soft black hair, and a strong, chiseled face.  Even his eyes glowed the same Alpha Red.  “Well aren’t you just going to be the biggest ladykiller?  Just like Daddy, huh?” he said, booping Derek on the nose.

The baby giggled at the touch.

“Got yourself an Alpha.  A goofy giggly Alpha.  Oh goodness, we have Kyle Version 2, don’t we?” John commented.

Kyle laughed loudly.  “You bet!  I’ll get him all trained up, and by the time he’s five, he’ll be ready to take good care of his little brothers and sisters,” he answered.

John turned to them.  “You’re waiting that long to have more kids?” he asked.

Talia nodded, holding her arms out, clearly wanting Derek back.  “The firstborn of the family is generally always the Alpha.  It’s good to have a little age difference, so the pups listen to him.  It’s a matter of respect, and family.  Because Derek will be able to lead them and help them through all their toughest days.  That’s what being an Alpha is all about.  Leading and protecting,” she explained with a gentle smile as John handed Derek back over to his mother.

“How’s Claudia?!” Kyle asked, handing a cigar to John and throwing his arm around the man.  

“Very pregnant and very irritable, Wisp pregnancies are apparently very tolling emotionally on them.  She cried when the mail was late, and threatened to launch nuclear arms when she saw someone not feed a dog scraps at a picnic.  Oh, and do you know what her weird craving is?  CURLY FRIES, of all things!  That boy is going to have those things in his BLOOD,” John exclaimed loudly.

Chuckling, Kyle shook his head.  “So when’s little Genirensynstrilmynstiles coming?” he asked

A loud groan escaped John’s lips.  “I give Claudia carte blanche to name the boy, and she names him after her GRANDFATHER.  A wisp.  A very OLD and ancient wisp that was born in the 1700s.  Back when, oh, you know, people had impractical names!  Do you see the VOWELS in that monster?  The kids are going to beat the crap out of him on the playground!” he exclaimed.

“You can just give him a good nickname.  Something like Gen or Geniren?” Talia offered.

Kyle shook his head.  “Nah, nah…  Stiles is MUCH better.  Geniren sounds like something you’d order at a German restaurant,” he offered.  He shook his head.  “So when’s STILES coming?” he asked, apparently ending the discussion on what the kid would be called.

John rolled his eyes.  There was no arguing with Kyle Hale, so why bother?

“A month or two.  Still bedridden though, Wisp pregnancies are a lot more intense.  She says that Stiles’ soul is already in her body, sucking up her life force so he can use magic.  At least, that’s how it works for Wisps, anyway,” John said, smiling.  “But she gets to talk to her baby and the baby can hear her apparently, so that makes up for it,” he answered. 

Kyle blinked his eyes, dropping his cigar out of his mouth.  “Oh, well, that’s pretty intense,” he said, clearly bewildered.

Clearing his throat, John laughed in Talia’s direction.  “Speaking of intense, Claudia was in hysterics that she couldn’t come see Derek.  After you’ve gotten some rest and recovered, please bring him by.  She’s going to love that little baby to pieces and may even kidnap him,” he answered.

“I promise,” Talia offered, smiling as she pressed a gentle kiss onto Derek’s forehead.  The little ball of joy had conked out.

+

Time flashed, and before they knew it, “Stiles” (a nickname which Claudia nearly MURDERED Kyle for, and even threw a fireball at him for it) had come to join the families.  

Scott McCall, Melissa’s son, had been born within minutes of Stiles, according to Kyle and Talia, who kept tabs on both women’s births.  

In fact Scott and Stiles had been put together in the nursery area, where they apparently cooed and talked at each other constantly, waking up all the other babies, much to the nursing staff’s annoyance.

Still, despite the horror over the nickname (or the fact that Kyle hogged Stiles for a solid half hour unapologetically despite John and Talia’s objections), Claudia still asked Kyle and Talia to be the child’s godparents.  Which they happily accepted.  

Once everyone had recovered, and a spare sunday was found, everyone finally had time for a playdate.  

Well, not that babies less than a year old could actually “play”, but they could at least lay together on a blanket and make whiny noises at each other.  Not that there was much laying, with Kyle holding them all the time.

Bouncing Stiles and Scott in his arms, Kyle was beaming and making playful faces, getting cute giggles out of the babies.

“Aww…  Who’s two adorable little babies?  You ARE!” Kyle said, pressing kisses on both their foreheads.  Scott’s eyes flashed red, giggling louder than Stiles.  Baby claws came out, trying to grab onto something in the air.  

“AWWW…  Who’s a big ol werewolf pup?  YOU ARE!” Kyle said, letting Scott impale his dull claws into his adult skin.  They barely scratched, but Scott seemed ever so proud of himself.  

Over in the corner, Claudia was content to rub Derek’s back, trying to get him to sleep.  A talent that Talia and Kyle had not been able to do since the hospital.  Only a wisp’s talented magic would get him calmed down enough.  

Melissa smiled at the scene.  “I wish it was like this at home…  Rafe’s just so…  Not fatherly like that,” she whispered.

Talia turned to her friend.  “Then LEAVE his stupid Alpha ass.  Come to the counseling center I work at!  We’ll help you!” she exclaimed.

“Or I could go beat the living shit out of him.  Couldn’t I Scott and Stiles?  Oh yes I could!” Kyle said, tickling their bellies and getting even more playful giggles out of the babies.

Melissa shook her head.  “He’ll get better.  He’s just under a lot of stress lately.  It’s not like he’s hurting me, he just…  Rafe isn’t like Kyle,” she explained.

The discussion stopped there, as John reached over to take a fussy Stiles.  He was on the verge of a total sobbing breakdown, and Stiles had MASSIVE lungs to wake the dead.

“Sorry, I’ll take him in the other room.  Stiles is a wisp baby who does NOT like people being unhappy,” John explained.  

Everyone nodded, and John left his friends to hopefully convince Melissa that Rafe was a raging douchebag.  He moved into the front porch of the Hale house, pressing kisses into Stiles’ head.

“It’s okay Stiles…  Daddy’s here…  No more bad thoughts!  Let’s think…  Happy thoughts!” John said brightly.  

Stiles calmed down, but still had a few sniffles here and there.

“How about your new friends Derek and Scott?  They’re pretty neat, huh?  You guys are going to grow up and have SO MUCH fun!  I just know it!” John said with a gleeful grin.  

Stiles cooed.

“Now…  You’ve got to go away for a little while with me and mommy to see your mama’s papa and to do weird wispy things with mama that Daddy doesn’t understand, but you’ll be back in time to start school with your friends.  It’s only for a little while, and then we’ll all be back home in Beacon Hills!” John said happily.  “Don’t worry, that’s not until you’re TWO.  Until then, you’re gonna be best buddies with ‘em, right?” he asked.

Stiles giggled.

“That’s what I thought…” John said.

The front door opened again, and John swung backwards to see Kyle holding a sleeping Derek.  

“Fresh air again?” John asked.

Kyle nodded.  “Pups sleep better out in the wild.  It’s just for six hours, I can hold him that long,” he answered.

Sitting down on the edge of the porch together, John and Kyle both sighed in unison.

“Think they’ll grow up right?  I’m worrying that I’ve already screwed up somehow, and he’s going to end up being a serial killer or something,” John asked.

Shrugging, Kyle managed a weak smile.  “Nah, they’ll grow up great.  I’m sure shit will hit the fan every now and then, but they’ll manage.  Either they manage or they die.  That’s really the only two options they have,” he answered.

“Not very comforting,” John retorted, laughing.

“Yeah, well, I’m catching your pessimism bug.  Asshole,” Kyle spat back.

“If Asshole is EITHER of these kids first words, you are going to be a dead man.  Our wives will kill you till you’re dead, bring you back to life, and then kill you again!” John said, pretending to cover Stiles’ ears.

Kyle laughed.  “Oh please, nothing can kill the great Kyle Hale!” he exclaimed.


	16. Thirteen Years a Friend : Part 3 of 3

At the age of two, John and his family to an extended trip to Germany, where Stiles would meet his maternal family.  While there, Stiles would undergo rites he SHOULD have had as a newborn wisp, but thanks to John’s work and Claudia’s shop, had to wait for a while.  

Thankfully, Claudia’s family paid for their stay, and thanks to MANY owed favors, John would get his job back after he returned 3 years later.  Actually, the local Sheriff was thrilled to be able to have three years of one less salary to budget for.

While in Europe, John didn’t just sit on his duff.  Instead, he tried to learn as much as he could about his wife’s side of the family and do administrative work at the local municipal thanks to a connection Claudia’s father had.  

The police filing and work was generally for his resume when he did finally decide to run for Sheriff, and his bilingual studies before for the move made him a generally useful translator until a real one could be found.

As for the Wisp research?

Stiles was a full-born wisp, and hadn’t gotten an ounce of John’s human blood in him.  Raising him as a child was going to be…  Adventurous.  

He knew Claudia would help him in any way possible, but he still wanted to be able to connect to his son on HIS terms.  That meant knowing about his people.

Though their adventures in Germany came to a swift end .  Stiles should have stayed there until he was five to complete his childhood training, but Claudia missed her home.  So immediately after Stiles had completed the majority of his rites, they’d packed their bags and headed straight home.

Unfortunately, the welcome they got was less than glamourous after a frantic phone call Claudia had with Talia.

Stiles had gotten sick on the plane, thanks to an asshole who complained the whole trip and gave Stiles secondhand rage-induced fever.  Thankfully, John’s adoptive mother came over and took care of the sick child, before racing over to the Hales.

Talia was pacing back and forth on the porch.  

“Sweetheart!” Claudia yelled, hugging her friends neck after three VERY long years.

Talia shook her head, hugging right back.  “Thank you for coming so quickly.  When you called and said you were back in town, I just..  I didn’t know who else could help,” she exclaimed, hugging John’s neck as well.

“What happened?” John asked immediately.  

Glancing off into the woods, Talia clutched at her heart.  “Kyle went into the woods this morning and hasn’t come back.  He said he…  He sensed SOMETHING out there, right before Derek left for preschool.  I did too, it was..  Demonic,” she explained, shivering.

Claudia turned her head, audibly gulping.  “Oh Lord…  That’s not good,” she said, covering her mouth.  

“What is it?” Talia asked, immediately.

“Grimm,” Claudia said, breathing heavily.  

“A what?” Talia and John both asked in a confused unison.

“Grimm,” Claudia repeated, as her eyes glazed over in fear.  “Kyle can’t handle that thing on his own, it’s a creature born from DECADES of negative emotions.  The darkest wishes and desires of the region combine into one horrible creature called Grimm, which leeches on magic deep in the earth to grant them power.  They pop up and last for only a few days, but if not stopped, they can overwhelm a region and destroy all living things in a sixty mile radius,” she explained.

“They WHAT?!” John screeched.  He pictured his mother and Stiles, all the way across town.  Alone.

“We’ve still got a day before it reaches its critical state.  I’m going to help Kyle.  Talia, come with me, Kyle will definitely require your assistance, and I’ll need guarding once I do my thing,” Claudia said, moving towards the stairs to the front porch.  

John grabbed Claudia’s hand, stopping her.  “Excuse me?  You’re actually going to HELP them?  Are you insane?  You JUST said that thing is dangerous!” he exclaimed.

Claudia smiled.  “John, this is a demon born from emotion.  Only a wisp can properly weaken them to a form that another creature can kill.  I’m the only one nearby, so…  It’s either me or widespread devastation everywhere,” she said, attempting to joke about the situation.

“Call your FAMILY!  They can get here in a few days!” John asserted.

Claudia shook her head.  “Would take too long.  Beacon Hills would be destroyed by then,” she explained.  Laughing, she pressed a gentle kiss on John’s forehead.  “Listen, all I’m doing is giving Kyle and Talia a little extra advantage.  That’s all!” she explained.

“You said the same thing about the Troll-Men in Germany when your cousin needed “help”.  Those things nearly KILLED you,” John spat angrily.

Sighing, Claudia shook her head.  “John…  This is serious,” she explained.

“I’m serious too!” John yelled, laughing sadly.  “You’re a mother now!  We have responsibilities to Stiles!  You can’t just go running off playing hero all the time, what if you got hurt?  Do you really want Stiles to grow up without a mother?” he yelled.

Claudia frowned.  “I’m doing this FOR Stiles.  This is his home, this is OUR home!  This is where he was born, and this is where he, Derek and Scott are going to grow up in!  Your parents are here John!  I’m not just playing hero John, I’m doing this for the people we love and care about!” she exclaimed.

There was a pit in his stomach filling up with ice.  John knew he was just a normal human, but even humans had a sixth sense.  His was shouting DANGER DANGER WILL ROBINSON.

“I’ll be back soon enough,” Claudia said, pecking another kiss again on John’s lips.  “Go home and stay with Stiles.  It’ll make me feel better knowing you’re there with him,” she whispered.

Talia grinned confidently.  “In that case, we’ll finish this QUICKLY.  Kyle has been dying to spoil Stiles to death, you should see the ring he made for him!  I’m also dying for Derek and Stiles to see each other in something other than diapers,” she offered.

John shook.  Their smiles were strained.  

“Don’t do this Claudia, let Kyle handle this!  He’s the strongest Alpha there is, and I know he can-”

An ear-piercing howl echoed in the area.  

Talia’s eyes blew out and she clutched her chest.  “No…  Nononononono…  NO!” she exploded, screeching at the top of her lungs as she belted into the forest

John turned to his wife, whose eyes were flowing with tears.  

“No….” Claudia said, hitching her breath.  Then, just like Talia, John watched his wife belt towards the forest as fast as her legs could carry her.

John followed after them, as his stomach shredded into nothingness.

+

Their running seemed to last for days, but actually was less than 10 minutes away from the Hale house.  

It was then, amongst the trees that John saw it.  The…  The Monster called Grimm.

Like a pile of oozing black sludge, bubbling from heat and smelling of dead bodies, it was a disgusting heap of nothing.  Though at its sides, John could barely make out what looked to be some sort of solid black bones sticking out, which acted as the creature’s hands.  

Sludge was everywhere, in claw-like spatters, showing that Kyle had been trying to scrape the outside layer away.

Unfortunately, from what John could see, the sludge was like an acid, burning holes into the ground and rotting trees upon contact.

“KYLE!” Talia bellowed, sobbing loudly as she pushed past John’s visual inspections.

He’d missed the sight just behind the monster.  

“No….” John said, trembling at the sight.

Kyle was dead on the ground, it didn’t take a genius to tell that fact.  His eyes were solid white, devoid of movement.  His arms had been seared into nothing but exposed bone and flesh, while his claws laid tattered on the ground, broken off in the fight.

“NO!” Talia screeched, running over and shaking her husband’s limp body.  “Wake up!  Wake up you asshole!  WAKE UP!” she yelled, not caring as the monster slowly limped towards her.

Claudia was the first to act, pulling at Talia to get away from the corpse.  “He’s not THERE anymore!  Get back!” she ordered, fighting back her own set of tears.

Acting on his own instinct, John pulled out his sidearm.  He pulled off the safety and fired his entire clip into the monster.  Each bullet lodged into the sludge-like body, getting absorbed and eaten by the thing.  

John trembled, re-loading another clip as he watched Claudia pulling Talia back behind him.  He fruitlessly empted another twelve bullets into the oozing sludge.  

The sound of claws unsheathing could be heard behind him.  

“I’ll kill him…  I’LL KILL THAT THING UNTIL ITS DEAD!” Talia roared as she pushed John out of the way.  At least, until Claudia took her hand.

“You can’t kill it yet!” Claudia yelled, pulling her back.  

John grabbed another clip, and shoved it into his gun.  He aimed it back at the beast, glancing to his wife.  

“Claudia, take Talia and run.  Get Derek and Stiles and my family and GO.  Just get out of here, I’ll try and make it come after me.  I’ll meet you at the airport, get tickets back to Germany.  We’ll figure things out there,” he ordered.

He trembled, missing two of his shots, while the other 10 just melted back into the oozing mess.

Claudia put her arms on John’s shoulders, guiding down his hands to lower his weapon.  “Sweetheart, stand back,” she whispered.

The Grimm kept slowly advancing.  The skeletal structure poked out, revealing a massive black skull that screeched loudly in their direction.  Its hands were out, long skeletal fingers with claws on the end.  Sludge kept destroying the land as it advanced, melting everything into nothing but a thick black grime.   As the spine revealed itself, several vertebrae were dangling loosely with a claw sticking out of one of them.

“Kyle did most of the work.  Listen carefully John, Talia…  When I hit that thing, you’ve got to cut its head off from the spine.  Aim where Kyle already hit it, and it should snap in two.  You’ll only have a few minutes,” Claudia said.

Grimm spat a long line of acidic sludge, which Claudia blocked with a thin light barrier.  

“Claudia?” John asked.

Pushing forward, Claudia shielded her husband’s body.  “With my heart do I chain thee.  May the darkness of the world be shackled by the love within.  AWAY WITH DARKNESS I COMMAND!” she shrieked.

Chains ripped out of the ground, looping around and around the sludgy Grimm.  The chains glowed a bright golden, evaporating the bubbling gloop.  Left to its natural state, only the skeletal structure remained.  The grimm was more like a snake attached to a human head, wrapped in a ball like state.  

Claudia fell backwards, landing in Talia’s arms.  

“Claudia?!” John exploded.

His wife was white as a sheet, freezing cold as ice formed around her arms and legs.

“Sh...shshshhs….SHOOT IT…” Claudia demanded.

A loud roar brought John back to his senses.  He spun around and pointed his gun at the vertebrae that was dangling from Kyle’s earlier attack.  

John growled, roaring as he fitted in his last clip.  “DIE BASTARD!” he screeched, unloading all twelve bullets.  They hit the target flawlessly each time, until finally the piece broke off.  

The Grimm’s spine snapped off without its connecting bone, and the head fell forward, slamming into the ground and shattered into splinters.  

Dropping his gun, John rushed over to his wife, snatching her out of Talia’s hands.  She was ice-cold, worse than any time he’d ever seen her before.  Wisps got cold after using too much energy, but this was the worst.  Her body was solidifying into bergs of ice.

“I’m getting you home right now,” John said, gathering his wife up, barely noticing as Talia rushed over to her own husband, weeping painfully.

+

John called Claudia’s father immediately after getting her into bed and throwing at least 3 electric blankets over her.  Stiles had crawled into bed with her as well, trying to comfort his mother as best he could.  Not that much was working.  The ice continued to grow and cover her entire body.  

“Unless the ice stops, her heart will freeze over.  There’s nothing you can do John, just…  Just try to be there for her.”

Not that he could do much.  He laid next to his wife, trying his best to wipe her face with a warm washcloth.  The ice chips kept reforming ceaselessly.  

“Mommy?  I’m real sleepy,” Stiles mumbled, clinging onto his mother’s waist as tightly as he could.

Claudia smiled bravely.  “Then go on to bed sweetheart…  I love you... “ she stammered, shivering as her solid blue hand gently caressed her son’s forehead.  

“I don’t wanna.  You’re going in the sky…  I want..  I wanna stay with you mommy,” Stiles yawned loudly.  

Slowly, Claudia brought Stiles closer to her face, pressing a gentle kiss into his head.  “Then just stay awake as long as you can baby…” she said, trying to smile.

“Okay mommy,” Stiles said, falling asleep within just a few moments.  Leaving Claudia to turn her head to John, cracking ice as it creeped up her neck.  

“John…  John, we-”

John tried to laugh.  “You lied to me.  You were going to die the second you knew it was that monster, didn’t you?” he said darkly.

Claudia nodded.  “That monster…  That monster would have kept growing John…  Kept growing until nobody was safe,” she whispered.

“We could have RUN!  Why’d you have to go help them right off the plane anyway?!  Damn that Talia Hale.  I’ll never forgive her or those damn wolves as long as I live!  this is HER fault!  It’s her fault that you’re dying, and it’s HER fault that you had to give your life!” John shouted.

“But then…  The grandchildren would never have a home.  Stiles…  Stiles’ future wouldn’t be what it should be,” Claudia retorted.

John checked Claudia’s forehead.  She must be deluded to some degree.  Grandchildren?!  She was insane.

“I dream about them.  I’ve been dreaming about Stiles’ future since he was born.  Little snippets here and there.  Just flashes, but…  Now I’m seeing the whole picture.  I see them John, and oh my God, they’re so happy.  All of them...” Claudia said quietly.

John raised an eyebrow, trying desperately to stop the ice’s advance.  He reached over, dipping his washcloth in the boiled water again.  His hand was burned, but he didn’t care.  “Sweetheart, you don’t have to talk.  Just relax, try to save energy.  You can make it through this,” he mumbled.

Claudia was still smiling dreamily.

“Stiles’ family.  I see them in that big house… Oh, he has such lovely children John…  You’re going to love being Poppy John” Claudia explained.    Her face beamed.  “Those adorable children are worth dying for…” she said, finding it difficult to breath.

John just shook his head.  “You…  You died for people that haven’t even been born yet?!  IMAGINARY chidren!  Are you stupid!?” he yelled angrily, as tears rushed down his face.

Claudia chuckled.  “Oh hu-...hu… hush you…. you-” she shivered, smiling.  

“What on earth am I doing to do?  I…  I can’t raise a child on my own, I’m…  I’m no good at this!” John exclaimed.

“W...When you mee...emmememeeeet..  Davi…  David…  Tell him…  Him…  Grandma…  Grandma Claudia…  Grandma Claudia hopes…  Ho...Hope…  Hopes he smiles again,” Claudia said quietly.

John tried to wipe her chest away from the shards of ice, only to feel it beat for its very last time.

+

_(Present Day)_

“DAD!” Stiles shrieked.

John jumped out of his skin.  He ran his fingers through his grey hair, trembling.

It was supposed to be a normal Saturday.  The grandkids came over to see “Poppy”, and get spoiled out of minds.  Well, at least for Kayle, who was the clingiest wolf baby he’d ever seen, who LOVED getting rides on Poppy’s back.  Liam liked playing with Stiles’ old video games, and Sara was always on her cell phone.

Though the new black haired sultry youth had made the normal Saturday a little…  More eventful.  

He looked like a kicked puppy.  A kicked alpha puppy.  Definitely had a very serious “emo” vibe about him.  

“Like I was saying DAD,” Stiles said, shoving John in the shoulders.  “This is DAVID.  He’s your newest grandson, and I was wanting to introduce you two!” he said, turning to the latest addition to the Hale family.  “You have to forgive Poppy, he’s old.  When he was born, they had to actually change the TV BY HAND.  He likes to daze out like that, it's his old head,” he explained in a joking manner.

It was then that John saw it.

An ever so gentle, curved grin on David’s face.

Followed by a gentle, invisible hand gripping his shoulder.  John laughed, feeling his eyes water.  

“Hello David.  Nice to finally meet you after all these years,” John said, holding his hand out.

David took it, shaking firmly.  “Nice to meet you…  Grandpa John,” he said.

_< End of Thirteen Years a Friend : John's Tale>_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's the end of John's Tale, or the prequel to "thirteen years a stranger". 
> 
> Who would you like to hear from next? Sara? David? The Twins? Mara? Peter? 
> 
> Let me know in the comments!


	17. David's Tale :  Part 1/5

_Dear Journal,_

_The Hales have got to be the biggest bunch of weirdos I’ve ever seen before in my life.  NICE weirdos, don’t get me wrong, but…  The way they do stuff is batshit insane._

_For one, they actually eat dinner together at a table with their Alpha.  Which is so fucking weird, because back home, we had to wait for dad to finish before we could have the colder leftovers.  By then, we’d all take our food back to our rooms and eat by ourselves._

_Here?  Derek apparently has a much more laid back pack dynamic.  Not what I expected from him.  I mean, he’s HUGE.  I’m pretty sure God’s jealous of his pecs._

_I’m still trying to figure out these people.  What’s their end game?  Because family isn’t like this._

+

David watched nervously as the rest of Hale pack was piling into the kitchen for dinner, eyes wide in a mixture of horror and wonder.

Wonder, because it was frankly the most amount of food he’d ever seen in his entire life.  Twelve massive family-styled pizzas, which all looked homemade and cooked with a variety of toppings.  Heavy meat pizzas for what he assumed was the pack wolves, and a mixture of fruit and vegetable toppings.

Horror because…  Well, things were not right.

He’d hung back out of respect and to see how things were done around that house, expecting Derek to go first and the rest to follow later.  

In reality, it was Liam and Mr. Scott who bumped to the head of the line, pushing Alpha Derek backwards with Mr. Stiles.  

He’d waited for the roar and issuing of Alpha Commands and bodies to go flying through windows, but…  They never came.  Derek just laughed at Liam, stealing food off his son’s plate when he wasn’t looking.

“Aren’tcha hungry?” Kayle asked, grabbing onto David’s shirt.  He had a stuffed wolf, Sidney, under his arm.

Glancing down, David saw the tyke where he’d been the last 24 hours since he’d arrived.  Attached to David’s hip.

“Uh…  Yeah, but shouldn’t we wait for Alpha Derek to go first?” David asked quietly.  

Toddlers were easy to trust, at least in David’s opinion.  They didn’t lie and generally told it like it was.

Kayle shook his head.  “Nuh uh.  Unca Scott says it’s a fwee for fwall,” he answered, clearly mistranslating the otherwise obvious play on words.  

“Better get going, or you’ll starve,” Derek said, smiling as he walked over and handed David a plate, ruffling his head in the process.  

Not needing any more of an invitation, David grabbed several slices of the Steak pizza and taking a seat on the far end of the dining room table.  Kayle trotted behind him, sitting Sidney at his own place at the table.  The two started eating, while the more active end was already starting to rev up the discussion.

Mr. Scott and his twins were scarfing down their meals, while Allison tried to shield Isaac and Kira from their crumb-war..  

“So…  Who won Alpha Training this week with Derek?” Scott asked, turning to Josh and Jeremy.

John grinned, shoving Jeremy off his seat and into the floor with a thump.  “ME.  Again!  I’m totally going to be the Alpha, just wait and see,” he responded smugly.  

A hand came up from the ground, Jeremy’s, and pulled Josh down to the floor with him.  “OH YEAH?  YOU FLUNKED YOUR HISTORY TEST DUMBASS!  YOU’D NEVER PASS THE WRITTEN ALPHA EXAM!” Jeremy screamed.

The sound of fistfigthing and general violent behavior could be heard from under the table.

Scott sighed, turning to Derek.  “You realize that could have VERY easily been us growing up and trying to please Talia?  Thank God Stiles had you whipped back when we were kids,” he said, returning to his large portion of food.  

Derek rolled his eyes.  “You would have given up on Alpha training three weeks into it.  I nearly died on the one week training, you’d NEVER make it past the year long seminar,” he explained.

“One week?!” David whispered quietly to himself, suddenly in awe of his new Alpha.

THAT was impressive.  Alpha training came in three varieties.  One year seminar training that had a lot of different training exercises, followed by a final examination.  A six month seminar with more intense training, also with an exam period.  

Then the one week training.  A life or death training session, where an Alpha is constantly brought to near-death, being “conditioned” to properly understand what it means to bear responsibility for a pack.  

Derek caught David’s interest, and smiled.  “So David…  Were you taking Alpha training?” he asked.

David nodded.  “Yes Alpha Derek.  I was on a six month regime before..  Uh..  The thing happened,” he answered.  He frowned, recalling the exact moment he wasn’t allowed to be an Alpha trainee in his father’s pack.  Not to mention the moment he wasn’t allowed to be…  In the pack…

_“Get your faggot ass out of here.  NOW.  FUCKING GET YOUR NASTY GAY CLOTHES OUT OF MY HOUSE, AND GO OFF AND BE SOMEONE’S BITCH!”_

“HE WHAT?!” Josh and Jeremy screeched in a well-tuned union, raising their heads up from floor and revealing their already healing bruises from their tumble under the table.

Scott whistled loudly.  “Damn.  My boys picked the year long training.  I’m guessing you’ve got a big head start on them!” he said, turning a smug glare to his sons.

Josh and Jeremy flashed their red eyes at David.  “RIVAL!” they yelled loudly, pointing straight at David.

David laughed nervously, unable to accurately determine the rate of the twins’ passion.  That is, until they both grabbed a slice, declaring they were not going to be beat, and ran out to do some road work.

“You know…  I’m very glad to be a Beta.  How about you Kayle?” Liam asked, smirking at the sight.  

“Uh HUH!” Kayle answered, also grabbing Sidney and nodding his head as well.

Derek smiled, grabbed another handful of slices.  “So…  Do you even want to continue Alpha Training?  Not that there’s any real hurry.  I won’t name a successor until I’m plenty older,” he answered.

“I uh…  I don’t-” David started to say, interrupted as Kayle jumped up and stood in his chair.  

“Yeah!  DAVID’S GONNA BE BEST ALPHA EVER!” Kayle said, grabbing Sidney and raising him up over his head.  “Sidney says so too!” he proclaimed.

Isaac smirked.  “Well, if Sidney says so…  It must be true!” he said, tipping his drink in Kayle’s direction.

“Awww.  Kayle, do you like David?” Mara asked.

David glanced at the woman, who kept hovering over Liam constantly.  (Which, given that they were courting, wasn’t all that of a big deal.)  Mara looked a lot like her mother with her long brown hair and amber-golden eyes, and had inherited her mother’s Kitsune abilities.   Trickster powers that David knew after one day to NEVER get involved with.

Kayle beamed.  “Uh huh!  He’s my brother!” he answered sweetly, hugging David’s side tightly.

“I’m actually just a charity case, but whatever.  You’re okay,” David thought smiling as he awkwardly hugged Kayle back.

+

_Dear Journal,_

_This family just keeps keeps getting weirder.  Like not in a bad way just…_

_When I was with my brothers and sisters, we were just…  There.  I expected my new brother and sisters to be the same way.  I mean, packs don’t…  Packs don’t do stuff together, right?_

_I mean, Kayle’s difference because he’s so young, but…  Even Liam seemed to want to be friendly._

_Is that normal?_

+

“WAAAAAAAKE UPPPPP BROTHER!” Kayle yelled loudly.

David groaned, barely having his eyes opened.  The alarm clock on his dresser said it was 7 in the morning.  

7 in the morning on a Saturday.  

A Saturday David had planned on staying in bed.  

He’d been with the Hales for a week now, and they were…  They were just SO much.

Scott and his sons were balls of energy that never stopped.  Josh and Jeremy were VERY serious about Alpha training, and had “extreme” dialed up to a 10.  He didn’t really know why it was such a big deal to them, but he assumed they had their own reasons.  Scott was just as extreme, being just a few practical tests away from having a doctorate in veterinary medicine.  Apparently, he was about to buy out some old guy’s practice in town.

Liam was always off in his own “Mara” world, deep in the world of courting and dating.  They were madly in love, and it was…  WEIRD as hell.  Even his mom and dad never got…  Cuddly like that.  In fact, everyone courting or courted in that house was lovey-dovey.  Especially Alpha Derek, who seemed to kiss Stiles like he was about to vanish into thin air.

Mr. Jackson and Mrs. Lydia hadn’t been home in a while, and he hadn’t met Xin, his “cousin”, yet.  But based on the Skype calls he heard in the living room, they were quick witted and very obsessed with Xin’s college tours.  The kid was apparently a prodigy in the arts.    

Sara was on crack, that’ all there was to it.  Nobody else could be an A+ student and also go to gymnastics for 5 hours a day AND do cheerleading.  

Then…  Then there was Kayle.

“WaAaAKE UPPPPPP!” the tiny wolf child whined, grabbing at David’s hair and yanking.

A man of lesser convictions would throw the toddler out of the door.  Or drop kick him.  David was pretty sure Liam could get away with that.

Still he seemed very distraught for a pup.  As if the world was ending.

“Kayle…  What’s up?” David asked, rubbing his eyes and leaning up.  His Breaking Bad T-Shirt  was wrinkled beyond compare.  He kept sleeping in weird positions since moving into the Hale house, spreading out his limb carelessly.  The family quilts, surprising enough, always seemed to be wrapped around him like a hug.

Kayle and Sidney were up on David’s bed, crawling on top of him and shaking him awake.  “David, Liam won’t go outside and play with me and Sidney in the wood, and Daddy says I can’t go outside by myself!  You’ve GOT to take me!  Please?!  PRETTY PLEASE?!” he whined painfully.

Groaning, David had “no” on the tip of his tongue.  “Fuck no” was somewhere deeper inside his brain.  Neither came out though.

“Dad?  Can we go out and play?”

_“I command you to leave me alone.  And it’s ALPHA.  Quit calling me Dad.  You’re 10 for crying out loud.”_

“Sure…  Just…  Just let me get a coat…” David mumbled.  His eyes were throbbing, but he chose to shake it off.

“YAY!” Kayle shouted, hugging David’s neck and not letting go as the youth hopped out of bed.  With Kayle hanging off him, David managed to slip on a pair of jeans over his boxers and grab his black hoodie.  

Kayle and Sidney let go long enough for David to put on his hoodie and open the door.  Then, before he knew it, the toddler was on his back, holding on by David’s neck.  

“Thank you David!  You’re the bestest,” Kayle exclaimed loudly.

Sleepily, David tried to be quiet as he ran down the staircase.  Sara was up already, with her latest AP Calculus monster spread out over the table.  Stiles was behind her sipping coffee and offering support as best he could.

“DADDY!  DAVID IS TAKING ME AND SIDNEY OUT TO PLAY!” Kayle yelled from David’s back.  

Smiling, Stiles leaned up from Sara.  “Oh really?  This early?” he said, checking the clock on the kitchen wall.  It didn’t take long for Stiles to glare at Kayle.  “You went and woke him up, didn’t you?  You used your puppy eyes!” he asked with a  raised eyebrow.

Kayle pointed to his stuffed wolf.  “NO.  Sidney, did!” he said, clearly insulted that Stiles would accuse him of such a wrongdoing.

“Uh huh,” Stiles said, turning his focus to David.  “You can go back to bed if you want, I don’t mind taking him out myself,” he offered kindly.

David shrugged.  “It’s fine.  Morning air is good,” he replied quietly.

Then, without much else in terms of argument, David led a VERY thrilled Kayle outside, shutting the door behind them with a soft thud.

Sara crossed her legs, and grabbed her own cup of coffee.  “He’s really nice Dad.  Quiet, but nice,” she said.

Stiles smiled.  “I think so too,” he replied.

“Kayle ADORES him.  I think Pops is a little jealous Kayle gives him so much attention,” Sara admitted.

“I think so too,” Stiles replied.

“BUT… I swear, he looks like we’re going to eat him or something,” Sara said, sighing.

“I think so too,” Stiles admitted, taking another long drink of his coffee and moving for another one.

Sara glared up at her father.  “Do you even have an original thought this morning?” she spat.

“Not before 9 and not before I know if Josh and Jeremy are in a good mood today,” Stiles said grimly.

The sound of a door breaking overhead was soon accompanied by “TODAY YOU LOSE ONCE AND FOR ALL DICKWAD!  FIRST YOU, THEN THE SON OF HALE!”

Stiles slapped himself on the head, hearing as furniture broke.  

“Somedays I want to kill your father for not picking one of those assholes by now,” Stiles said, leaning on Sara for support.  Sara patted her father on the shoulder for support.

The struggle was real.

+

If there was one thing David LOVED about the Hales, it was their ridiculous land holdings.  Woods covered the region in dense forestry.  Perfect to run in, and even better to just…  Lounge around in.

Which is how David had found himself up a huge oak tree, leaning against the trunk while straddling a branch.  He had the VERY important job of keeping Sidney safe in his lap, while Kayle FLEW between the branches.  

David grinned, watching the pup.  The little buggers had energy to burn constantly, while they grew into their bodies.  Kayle was no exception, and he apparently loved climbing trees more than anything.

“DAVEY!  DAVEY!  WATCH ME!” Kayle said, holding onto a branch with just one hand.  

“I’m watching,” David assured him.  He even sat Sidney up so that the doll could get a view as well.  

Grinning ear to ear, Kayle let go of the branch he’d held onto , and fell down to a lower branch, where he stuck a landing, and then bounced off it, flying in a different direction.  Like a monkey, Kayle got closer and closer to where David was.  

David held his hand out, which Kayle took after jumping off the tree’s trunk, and the older boy raised him up with one arm up to the same branch.

“I’m COOL!” Kayle said confidently.

David nodded, handing Sidney back to the child.  

“Thanks for playing with me!” Kayle said, yawning as he laid his head on David’s shoulders.  

“No prob,” David retorted, very aware that he was about to have a sleepy pup on his hands.  “You want to go back home?  I bet it’s lunchtime.  Stiles and Derek probably made something good!” he said, hoping to entice the child down.

“They’re Daddy and Papa.  You can call ‘em that, you’re my brother now!” Kayle said as he situated himself comfortably on David’s lap.  He found David’s neck a particularly comfortable pillow.

David cringed.  

_“I’m ALPHA.  Call me Daddy one more time and I make sure you fucking regret it whelp.”_

Shaking off a rather vivid memory, David sighed.  

“You smell like sad.  You smell sad a lot.  How come?” Kayle asked yawning as he tucked Sidney into a warm hug.

“It’s…  A long story,” David admitted.

Kayle shrugged.  “I don’t like long stories.  Can’t you just call them papa and daddy?” he asked.

David didn’t bother to respond.  Instead he pulled a dick move, waiting for Kayle to fall asleep and let the topic drop for the time being.

 


	18. David's Tale :  Part 2/5

_Dear Journal,_

_It’s been a few weeks with the Hales.  Things are…  Good._

_Derek’s not a normal Alpha, he’s definitely not like my dad.  I like him, he’s really laid back and loves his kids.  I feel comfortable around him.  Not like…  Him being my dad or anything, but he could be my…  Like Guardian or something.  He’s the Hagrid to my Harry._

_Stiles is a little more overbearing.  Like he wants to shove me into the family and smother me to death.  Not that I’m complaining, because Stiles is nice and is like constantly trying to me me feel welcome and wants me to be all happy and go-lucky, but…  I’m not that kind of guy…_

_Oh, and then there’s my…  “Brothers and sisters”._

_They…  They’re another story.  A good story in the end, but…  Still odd._

+

David kept staring at the twenty dollar bill in his hands.  It was like a foreign animal from a faraway land in his hands.  He’d never touched money, never really seen money, and definitely never been allowed to…  Spend money.

So when Stiles had given him the twenty that Saturday morning, saying “go crazy” before Sara drove him and his siblings to the mall, David had to shake off the “deer-in-headlights” mentality.  He’d tried to give it back, but Stiles just pushed him out of the house with Liam, insisting to take it.

 _“They’re bribing us to get out of the house so they can have gross old-people sex.  Trust me, you WANT to be at least a 10 mile radius away,”_ was what Liam had said.  

David…  David didn’t hesitate longer after that.

Though as he walked in step behind Sara and Liam, with Kayle holding his hand, he noted that they were all staring at him.

“Dude, it’s..  Money.  What’s the big deal?  You’re acting like you’ve got the crown jewels,” Liam joked, as they stopped a the food court.  

David shrugged.  “Never had it before.  My Alpha-...  My old Alpha never wanted us to have money.  He said it wasn’t something we deserved, since our job was to serve him,” he admitted.

Though as the words left his lips, he shocked himself.  Had he REALLY just told Liam and Sara about his old life?  

“Wow.  What an asshole,” Sara explained, shaking her head.

Liam nodded.  “Must be one of those Alphas stuck in the dark ages.  My mom was sort of like that, at least, that’s what Pops said,” he replied.

Their conversation came to a halt as the four of them stood in line by the burger joint Kayle had led them all to.  The wolf boys ordered a small army’s worth of food, while Sara got a normal portioned helping of chicken and paid for the meal as a whole.  When David objected, yet again, Sara had the same dorky grin that Stiles had and assured him that “daddy” had given her money for everyone’s food.  

They took their food to the corner of the court, right next to the water fountain, which was apparently Kayle’s favorite thing in the world.  The pup could barely eat for watching the water dancing as it spurted up in the air in a continuous flow.  Bringing Sidney along as always, Kayle was pointing out each and every droplet to the stuffed wolf.

“So uh…  Were you guys poor or something?” Liam asked nervously, as he played with his drink straw.

Sara slapped him on the back of the head.  “RUDE, asshole!  GOD you’re just like Poppy, a nosy old fart with no tact!” she shot back.

“WHAT?  IT’S NOT LIKE HE’S TALKING TO US OF HIS OWN WILL!  I’VE GOT TO BE NOSY!” Liam exclaimed.

“HE’LL TALK WHEN HE WANTS TO TALK!” Sara shouted.

David blinked a few times and snorted, watching the brother and sister argue back and forth.  It was…  Funny.  His Alpha never allowed arguing of any sort.  Actually, he and his siblings never got much time together  This was…  Funny.

“Not really poor, no,” David answered, which silenced both siblings.  He went back to eating, feeling Liam and Sara’s stares attacking him.  

“Oh…  Well, I mean it’s…  It’s not like that mattered or anything, I just…  I didn’t want you to worry about money.  Pops is loaded.  Like hard-core old money, and Uncle Jackson invests his trust fund he got when he and dad got married.  They’re worth billions by this point,” Liam explained

David raised his head up.  That news surprised him.  He knew the Hales must have been pretty well off to have THAT big of a house, but…  Billions?  They certainly didn’t live like that.  The Hales shopped at the same grocery store that the whole town used, and the clothes they’d bought him were from the local mall.  

Sara nodded, as if to confirm.  “Dad and Pops believe in saving for the future.  Our trust funds, our grandkids’ trust funds, the twins, Xin, just about all of our family and friends, and our pack in the future that isn’t even born yet.  So…  Even if they are rich, it’s mostly in illiquid forms of money that they can’t or won’t touch.  But Liam is right, you don’t have to worry about money.  Daddy usually gives us like 20 bucks once a month to go to have fun so he and Papa can have time to themselves,” she explained.

“Oh.  Well that’s cool,” David responded disinterestedly.  Money wasn’t really what he cared about.  He knew that he’d never really get much money from Derek or Stiles, since he was frankly just the charity case of the family.  All he hoped is that Derek would keep him around until he could get to college.  No idea what he’d DO in college, but that’s what humans did when they wanted to live on their own.  Which WAS his goal.

There was an awkward silence between them, and David watched Liam and Sara argue silently between each other.

“So umm…  David!  Where are you wanting to go shop?  Got a hobby or something?” Sara asked kindly, forking several pieces of chicken and eating them.

David moved on to this third burger, glancing over to Kayle.  The pup was beaming from ear to ear, looking at him expectantly.  Even Sidney was giving him the guilt look.  He cleared his throat.  “I uh…  I’m hoping there’s a bookstore here?” he asked.  

Liam nodded.  “Yeah, third floor.  You into books?” he asked.

“DAVY HAS ALL THE BEST BOOKS EVER!  HE’S READING ME HARRY POTTER AND IT’S THE BESTEST THING EVER!” Kayle exclaimed.

David chuckled.  “I uh…  I guess I left the third book at my old home.  I uh..  I didn’t have much time to pack.  I told Kayle I’d try to find a used copy somewhere,” he admitted.

“David’s reading to you Kayle?” Sara asked, clearly surprised.

Kayle nodded.  “Uh huh!  Right before bedtime and sometimes I even get to sleep over in David’s bed if I fall asleep!” he announced.

Liam and Sara glanced over to David, awestruck.

David cleared his throat.  “He uh…  He was adamant one night that I read to him.  It was the night Stiles had to go help at the psychiatric ward and Derek was at Josh and Jeremy’s lacrosse game.  He uh…  I guess he liked the way I did it,” he admitted.

ACTUALLY, Kayle had demanded it, even going so far as to pick out the book and interrupt the novel David was writing.  Not that it was THAT important, but he’d at least been wanting to get the first chapter done.  Scott’s stories about Derek and Stiles’ childhood was pretty interesting, and he’d wanted to put it in book form.

“HE DOES FUNNY VOICES!  DUMBLEDOORED IS THE BEST!” Kayle said.

Liam grinned.  “Oh really? I don’t guess you’d-”

“No,” David responded, throwing a fry at Liam’s face and grinning.

Though as he felt his mouth curve to form the smile, his forehead twitched.

“ _Did I just…  Smile?”_

+

Liam headed straight to the arcade after lunch, while Sara moved straight to a cafe that some of her friends were meeting her with.  She’d offered to take Kayle with her, but David didn’t have any trouble with the pup going along with him to the bookstore.

Kayle wasn’t annoying like people thought he was.  SURE, he was a pup and easily excited, but that was just who he was.  David liked that.  He was fun to be around and made up for David’s lack of conversational skills.  The pup did enough talking for two, EASILY.

Which made for a fun time in the bookstore.  Because Kayle wanted to know about every book on the shelf, and would listen carefully as David explained them.  With the used book sale having the old-timey paper books on sale for 50 cents each, David was happy to grab a few titles for Kayle.  Stuff he knew the pup would like to read about, while also getting himself a few of the latest bestsellers.  

By the time he was through, both he, Kayle and Sidney were carrying three full sacks of books.

“Can we read Harry Potter tonight?!  PRETTY PLEASE!” Kayle begged, hopping along happily behind David.  

David smiled, nodding to please the small child.  “Sure.  When we get home we can start reading it.  I know you’re dying to hear all about-”

David was interrupted as he felt Kayle twitch.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sidney get snatched out of Kayle’s hands and into werewolf clawed hands.

“SIDNEY!” Kayle screamed.

David felt his eyes burn as he spun around.  We was met with three average looking werewolves, tossing Sidney around like it were a football.  They were probably between Liam and Sara's age.

“Aww…  Look at the little baby hale, carrying around a dolly-wolly.  He must be a little faggot like his daddies!” the biggest of the three proclaimed.  The other two lackies laughed with him.

David stepped forward, pushing Kayle behind him.  He dropped his bag of books.  “Hey…  Give him that back, it’s his toy.  He’s just a kid,” he asked politely.

The middle bully laughed.  “And who the fuck are you?  Why you with the baby fag?” he asked snidely.

One of the other two prodded the leader.  “That’s their new kid, I bet.  The one dad said was a faggot and got kicked out of his pack.  David Klein,” he explained.

“AH.  So another failwolf!  Good to know they all live under one roof.  I’d hate to have that STINK all over town,” the leader said, laughing as he unhinged one of his claws and stabbed Sidney in the stomach.  “I’d love the chance to tear you freaks open, just like this…  We ALL would if this damn world wasn't so PC all the goddamn time,” he threatened, as stuffing started to come out of it slowly.

Kayle gasped behind David, on the verge of tears.  

Kayle was scared.  HIS Kayle was scared.  HIS Kayle’s precious toy was getting ripped open by bigoted douchebags.  HIS Kayle had been insulted.

“Give.  It.  Back,” David growled.  His eyes were flaming by this point, swirling in a deeper red.  

“Or what?” the leader said, guffawing loudly with his cronies.

All three surrounded David, claws out and fangs ready to tear into him.

+

Derek had broken no less than 12 speeding laws and one international racing law in the efforts to get to the mall.  After getting a call from the security station at the mall and hearing “your sons were involved in a fight, please get down here”, Derek didn’t even bother to wait for Stiles, who’d been…

Well, it really was nobody’s business WHAT they were doing, but Stiles was rather…  Tied up at the moment.

Walking through the mall, it didn’t take him long to find the basement-level offices.  He ran in, and immediately saw his four children, all sitting with an armed officer.  Kayle was huddled on David’s lap, who had his hood covering his face.  Liam and Sara were frantically explaining something to the officer when they saw him walk in.

“PAPA!” Sara screamed, standing up and pushing past the armed guard that had been watching them.  She came up and hugged him tightly.  “You listen to me.  It was those asshole Robinson assholes.  They THREATENED Kayle and David was just-”

“Mr. Hale!” a booming voice exclaimed.

Looking up from his daughter, Derek was met with Officer Boyd.  Standing at a tall six and a half feet, the African American was one of Sheriff Stilinski's best men.  He and his wife Erica had been friends with the Hales since they’d moved to Beacon Hills about 5 years earlier.  Like Derek, he was the Alpha in a pack of two, attempting to grow their own pack in peace at the Hale Territory.

“Boyd,” Derek said, pressing a kiss on Sara’s head and brushing past her.  Boyd nodded away from the kids and into the main security office.  Derek tried to glance at Liam and David, and it didn’t take a genius to know who’d been in the fight.  Especially considering that Liam had the survival skills of a naked turtle.

Shutting the door behind them, Boyd turned to the security screens and began fiddling with the dials.

“So…  I’m assuming David was in the fight?  Do I even want to know what happened?” Derek asked, mildly weary.  He’d hoped that David wasn’t going to act out, but…  

Boyd laughed.  “Oh no, you’ve got the wrong idea on this…  You’re going to want to see this.  You’ve got one HELL of a kid Derek,” he explained, pressing “play” on the recording.

It was then that he saw the event unfold.  The gang of Robinson boys, part of the family who’d mocked  his lifestyle back when he’d announced his courting with Stiles AGES ago, ganging up on his sons.  He heard their nasty little remarks, and saw them tear up Kayle’s Sidney.  Impressively, he even heard David keep his cool and try to peacefully resolve the issue.  Though if he’d known ahead of time, he’d know that the Robinsons had been bullying Liam for YEARS until Joshua and Jeremy beat the shit out of them.  There was no reasoning with bigots.

Then, came the magic words.  “Or what”

“Kayle, go hide behind the fountain” is what David commanded sternly.  

What happened next?

Derek had to do a double take.

David…  David was…

Curb-stomping the assholes into a mushy oblivion.  It was the single most one-sided fight he’d ever seen in his life, INCLUDING the Alpha training that Peter had put him through.

His son was in full-on Alpha-rage with flaming red eyes.  After Kayle ran away , David slammed his foot into the chest of the tallest one, flinging him into the fountain, but not before securing Sidney in his chest.  The other two bullies tried to grab for him with their claws, but David grabbed them instead.  He slammed their skulls together, throwing them into the fountain with their other friend.  They tried to stand back up and bring on round two, but...

Then…  Came the roar.

A deafening Alpha roar that shot a chill down Derek’s spine.  One of the single most fierces calls he’d ever heard.  A roar that got the three bullies to run out of the fountain and FAR FAR away.  

After that, security came by and politely escorted Kayle and David away, while a few others chased after the Robinsons.  

All in all, the footage lasted about five minutes long.  

Boyd switched off the TV.  “I told the Robinsons that if they pressed charges, I’d be HAPPY to testify that David was acting in self-defense after having his life and the life of his little brother threatened.  We’ve got it on fucking tape,” he said in a short victorious arm thrust into the air.

Derek chuckled loudly.  His face was glowing with pride.

“Hale?  You okay there buddy?” Boyd asked.

Nodding, Derek sighed.  “Can I take my children home?” he asked.

“Naturally.  I’ll stop by later and discuss a few things with you later,” Boyd replied, falling on deaf ears.  Derek was already out the door.

+

Sara drove Liam and Kayle back home.  Naturally, David was asked to drive with Derek.  He’d beaten the shit out of kids.  No way that Stiles and Derek would want him after that.  

He’d fucked up.  

He’d gotten close to someone and it fucked him over.  Now he’d be sent away, and he’d disappoint Kayle.  He was going to be all alone again.

…

Maybe he could ask Sara to read him the last books.  Or maybe he could ask Stiles, if he wasn’t too disgusted with him.

His stomach was doing backflips.  The Hales had been SO good to him, and he’d fucked it up.  

Looking up from the inside of his still up hood, David saw that their vehicle had come to a stop, just a little ways away from the driveway.  Derek cut the engine, and David shivered.

“I saw the tapes myself, and….” Derek said, taking a deep breath.  “David…  I..  I want to thank you for taking care of Kayle.  That means a lot to me that you care so much about him.,” Derek replied.

“I-” David said, silencing himself from the protest he was going to make.  Had Derek REALLY just said that?

“Not even about the fight.  I mean the reading, the letting him sleep with you in a puppy pile, and taking him out to play early in the morning.  Kayle adores you, and I don’t know any other thirteen year old boy that would be so accommodating.  You’re a good man, and I want to let you know that our family is lucky to have you,” Derek said, leaning over the seat and hugging David’s body tightly.  He patted him on the back.

David felt his hood fall down.  He didn’t even realize it, but Derek’s words had made him cry.  

“You’re…  Happy with me?  Even after I lost my temper like that?!” David asked, as Derek lifted himself back up from the hug.

Mr. Hale was smiling.  “I would have done the exact same thing at your age.  You tried to deal with this peacefully.  Even something as nasty as they were saying, you kept a cool head.  THEN, when it didn’t work, only then did you resort to violence.  You protected Kayle and rescued Sidney.  I respect that,” Derek said.

David lifted his head up.  Derek could probably see the surprise in his face, as his eyes lightened from their earlier fury and fear.  This was NOT the conversation he was expecting to have.

“You’re not…  Mad?” David asked.

Derek laughed.  “No.  Actually, I’m sorry I didn’t warn you about them.  The bigots I warned you about earlier?  Well…  Those were their sons.  They’ve given Liam a lot of trouble in the past.  I’d recommend avoiding them, though I’d assume that they’ll be avoiding YOU in the future,” he explained.

David nodded.  “Yeah…  I will,” he replied back dully.  He felt…  Off still.  Like he shouldn’t be rewarded for his temper.

“It wasn’t a temper, by the way,” Derek said, with a smug grin.

“It wasn’t?” David asked, clearly curious.

“What was going through your head?” Derek asked, as traffic flew by behind them.  He started back up the car, and began driving down their long driveway.

David shrugged.  “I was…  I was wanting them to leave Kayle alone.  He’s just a pup, and I wanted him to never cry, and…  I didn’t care about me.  I…  I wasn’t me.  It was like a stranger was in my body.  A really MAD stranger who was making me move,” he answered.

Derek patted David on the shoulder.  “That’s what being an Alpha feels like.  Your pack comes first,” he answered.

“What?!” David spat back.  His heart leapt.  Pack came first?  Did that mean that the Hales were…  His pack?  At the least, Kayle was.  He didn’t go psycho Alpha for no reason, that’s for sure.

Laughing, Derek nodded.  “That was Alpha instinct.  Even if you’re not this pack’s Alpha, you’re going to be protective.  Back when Scott and I were younger, we did the same thing with Stiles.  Yours seems to be a little delayed, but..  Hey, there it is!” he said proudly.

“Oh…” David said, genuinely surprised.  He’d figured he’d end up being a Beta sooner or later.  His Alpha Instinct never really existed until…  Until that day.  Until Kayle had been threatened.

“There is one problem I would like to address, and it’s rather serious,” Derek muttered, turning to David with a serious glance.  They’d stopped at the garage, where Kayle was already showing Sidney to Stiles to get to fixing.  

David gulped.  “Y..  Yeah?” he asked.  

Derek sighed.  “Every now and then, I’d appreciate it if you taught me how to make “the voices”, because I miss Kayle coming to get his bedtime story from me and Dad,” he replied, with a ridiculous pout.

David snorted.  "Yes Da- Derek," he responded, quickly correcting himself. 

 

 


	19. David's Tale :  Part 3/5

_Dear Journal,_

_I think I’ve changed my mind about Stiles.  He’s really crazy, but I think I’m starting to like that._

_Actually, I've changed my mind about this family too.  They're all really..._

_Well, they're family._

 

+

David had found a solid routine with the Hale family.  

At 6 AM, Kayle would wake him up and insist on a morning walk (or run) out in the woods, with mild monkeying around in a tree if Kayle was particularly packed with energy.

By 7:30, he and Kayle were back home, and he’d shower and eat in privacy, since everyone would have already gone through the revolving door on the kitchen and bathroom.  

From 8 until 4ish, he’d be at school, which was an adventure of itself.  Though that was a story for another day to be told.

Immediately when he got home, David had roughly an hour or two of privacy while Kayle was still in his afternoon nap.  He generally used it for reading, writing, or working on his homework.  The latter never took him long.  It was amazing how easier it was to do homework in a home where the dad wasn't in a drunken stupor 24 hours a day.

Because, naturally, Kayle would wake up by 5ish, and the afternoon playtime was ready.  Some days Kayle wanted to go back out in the woods to run, while others might be spent in David’s room, reading the latest adventures of Harry Potter.  They were going to run out of books soon, and David was planning on starting Kayle on Percy Jackson next.  

Kayle was out by 8 or 9, and had been a frequent sleepover buddy in the previous month since the mall accident.  Actually, Kayle was begging to move in with David permanently and share a bedroom.  Which David was fine with, and Derek would help make happen in a few weeks.  He was trying to find furniture that both a teenager and a toddler would like.

David himself usually got to bed by 10 or 11, reading the last few hours as the rest of the house settled down.

There was something odd about having a routine that he’d picked out himself.  Satisfying, but odd.

Then there was Kayle.  Alpha instinct was growing each day, and David was surprised about how much he actually cared about the kid.  He was overly protective and found it hard to share Kayle with anyone out of the family, and definitely never let the kid out of his sights when they were in public.  He feared a repeat of the mall, and made it a point to keep fear in the Robinsons when he went to school.  

There was no holding back the fact that Kayle was his little brother, and definitely his pack.  

The others?  Hell, David knew they were his pack too.  

Sara and Liam definitely cared about him since the mall, and he got invited just about every weekend’s hangout with their friends, who in turn became his friends.

The twins became his rivals in the succession race to be Derek’s next-in-line.  Not that David was actively trying to be the Hale pack’s future alpha, but it was fun to go out and do roadwork with the crazy Josh and Jeremy, in one of the most competitive friendships he ever figured he’d have.

Scott took great pride in sharing “Derek’s dirty little secrets” with his newest nephew.  

Needless to say, David was wearing a brighter smile with each and every passing day.

Which Stiles was eager to point out as David walked down the staircase on Saturday morning, a few weeks before Thanksgiving.

“Well well!  Are you excited for today!?” Stiles exclaimed, already attacking breakfast on a hot stove, making his special fruit pancakes.

Scott was right next to him, flipping sausages and frying thick slabs of bacon.  “Of COURSE he’s excited, who wouldn’t be?” he asked.

David raised an eyebrow.  “Excited about what?” he asked, moving over to the fridge where he retrieved a pitcher of orange juice.  He poured himself a glass, and turned over to Scott and Stiles.  

The two adults exchanged peculiar looks.  

“You’re kidding right?” Scott asked.

Slowly, David plopped down on the kitchen table, thinking to himself.  “Uh..  It’s Saturday, and…  I uh,.. . No, I really don’t know, what should I be excited about?” he asked, sipping down a good volume of his beverage.  

Neither had much of a chance to respond, as loud footsteps raced down the staircase and into the kitchen.  The twins were grappling in their pajamas, pushing back and forth until they fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Scott sighed.  “One day.  Is it all to ask that you two go ONE day without wanting to kill each other?!” he screeched.

Stiles snorted.  “Seriously, you two should play NICE for David’s day,” he explained.

The twins shot up, taking the seats on either side of David.  “FINE.  One day,” they both said in unision, patting David on the back a little harder than was probably necessary.

David laughed.  “What day is it?  Why shouldn’t they fight?” he asked, slapping both twins on the back as hard as they had to him.  All three sets of eyes flashed in a competitive red.  He was starting to understand why the twins fought all the time.  It was because they wanted to protect the pack and lead them into a safe and peaceful life.  David felt it too, and had gotten into the Alpha race for Kayle's sake.  Like hell was Josh or Jeremy going to be the one looking after HIS Kayle.

Stiles and Scott shared another nervous glance.  

“David…  It’s your-”

“DAVY!” Kayle screamed.

All eyes turned over to the tiny pup hobbling through the house with Sidney under his arms.  He had sleepy eyes and a pronounced pout.  Kayle hopped into David’s lap, nuzzling and scenting all over David’s neck as he yawned.  “You didn’t wake me up!” he asserted angrily.  

David snorted.  “I tried, but you snored so LOUD that you didn’t hear me!” he joked, rubbing Kayle’s back as he yawned louder.  

“Did not, YOUR a SNORERRERR,” he spat back, already half-asleep again.  

The rest of the morning was pretty quiet after that.  David let Kayle do his pup-scenting while the rest of the family gathered around the breakfast table.  Mostly the familiar faces, but a new one popping up in the last few days caught his attention.

Xin, an adopted Fae of Asian descent from China, had gotten back with Lydia and Jackson’s tour of colleges.  David looked up, still surprised by the child.  He’d assumed Xin was going to be one of those super-smart Asian stereotypes, or some kind of ultra-zen elf, but what he hadn’t expected was…

Well, Xin was definitely of some Asian race, and did have pointed Fae-elf ears, but was neither super-smart or ultra-zen.  Instead, the eighteen year old gaming nerd never out of his signature electric blue hoodie, was the single nicest person he’d ever met in his life, and definitely wasn’t anything like his parents.  Or at least, that was what Scott and the twins said.  David hadn’t really gotten to know Jackson or Lydia all that much, but they certainly weren’t Xin.

David was surprised to know that Xin started a business at sixteen, being a professional streamer and youtuber online.  He made about 30 grand a year from advertising, donations, and selling merchandise, 10,000 of which went to charities annually to adoption agencies.  A mixture of video games, vlogging, and professional training for gaming competitions. People liked his voice, his personality, and he was a definite showman.  His parents had helped him get where he was, but he now managed his business entirely himself.  

Xin plopped down next to Sara, and was already furiously keying away at something on his phone.

“Mornin’ Dave.  Sleep good?” he asked, in a sing-song tune that accompanied a bright smile.  

David nodded, trying not to shift too much.  Kayle had already fallen asleep again, and David tried to keep Sidney from falling out of the pup’s hands.  “Yeah.  Very peaceful.  Kayle slept good last night and didn’t have the kickboxing dream,” he said.

Xin snorted loudly.  “Oh my God, you are SO perfect in this place.  I could kill mom and dad for keeping me away from home so long!  Seriously, who goes on a month long college tour?” he whispered, fully aware that everyone could hear him.

“Someone who’d be a fool NOT to apply education to his growing business,” Lydia added.

Jackson rolled his eyes, on his third cup of coffee that morning.  “Someone who had the grades to get into Harvard, but wants to go into this online gaming market,” he sighed.

Xin chuckled.  “Mom and dad love me too much and want me to be a doctor, buuuuut, I think that I’ll just spearhead this new online market and make a fortune to show them up,” he winked in David’s direction.

“I don’t expect anything less,” Lydia said, pressing a kiss on Xin’s head as shot shot David a warm look.  “So what are the big plans for today?  Or is Stiles surprising you like he does everyone else?” she asked.

David raised an eyebrow again.  “Uh..  Surprising me with what?” he asked curiously.

The room went dead quiet as Derek moseyed on in, having heard the tail end of the conversation.

“David?  Today’s November 18th,” Derek said.  

“Uh…  Okay?” David responded, still not knowing what anyone was talking about.

Silent murmurs around the place were drowned out as Derek patted David on the back.  “David, it’s your birthday.  You’re fourteen.  How’d you not know that?” he asked.

“Oh!  Okay.  Is that today?” David asked, nonchalantly.  

“WHAT?  That’s all you have to say?!  David, it’s your BIRTHDAY!  Time for wild and crazy parties!” Stiles exploded, as he and Scott moved large plates of foot over to the dining table.  

Derek eyed David cautiously.  

David cleared his throat.  “I uh..  I’ve never really celebrated my birthday before.  Didn’t even know it was today, to be honest.  I ought to write it down.  18th huh?  Knew it had to be in November/December or somewhere close to there.  Mom was always nicer around then,” he said, reaching over to grab some food for both him and Kayle when the pup woke up.

It was only after a few moments that David realized he was the only one getting food.  Everyone else was in mid-chew or had a gaping mouth.

Stiles was the worst.  His whole face was panic-striken.  

David laughed.  “Guys, not a big deal.  My last Alpha just didn’t think birthdays were something to be celebrated, or that we needed to know what day we were born.  It’s just another day of the year after all, nothing all that special about it.  I’ve gone fourteen years without one, so what’s another-”

He silenced himself as Stiles moved over and hugged him around the neck.

“It’s important because that’s when YOU were born.  Oh my God, my poor baby!” Stiles exploded, as the rest of the kitchen began rambling in an uproar.  

“YOU ARE KIDDING ME?  HE DIDN’T EVEN LET YOU KNOW YOUR BIRTHDAY?  OH MY GOD, XIN, GET ME MY STABBING KNIFE!  Nobody messes with my nephew” Lydia demanded.  Xin actually did get up and retrieve a particularly pretty pink knife, much to David's horror.   Jackson wasn’t much better, gripping his coffee cup tightly and nearly cracking it.

Sara, Mara, and Liam were equally disturbed, shooting sad glances David’s way.

The twins on either side of David glanced at him curiously, not exactly sure what to say.  Their poor social skills matched Scott’s, as their father turned to Allison for guidance.

Isaac and Kira didn’t say much, but shot David a sympathetic silence.  

David was genuinely shocked.  This wasn’t the reaction he’d expected.  It was just a birthday.  Sure, he’d always wanted a party back in elementary school and had asked his mother if he could have one, but…  His Alpha said no.  That it was a waste of resources and time.  It celebrated something that wasn’t necessary to celebrate.  

“GUYS,” Derek said, cutting the awkwardness with a knife.  His Alpha voice silenced everyone, but David was surprised that it wasn’t an Alpha command.  No, Derek had gotten everyone’s attention by his voice alone.  David was constantly impressed with Derek and what a good Alpha he was.    

Derek turned his attention to David.  “David, why don’t you come with me for a walk?  It’s getting a little loud in here,” he offered.

Handing a sleepy Kayle off to Liam and happily joined Derek.  He wasn’t fond of all of the attention, it was…

Weird to see so many people caring about him.

+

David and Derek walked in silence around the woods circling the house.  It was the same place he and Kayle usually jogged around in the mornings.

While the silence was comforting, he knew Derek was wanting to drop something on him.

“So uh…  You want to say something?  Talk?” David asked finally.

Derek chuckled.  “Yeah.  First off, be ready for a full on party by the time we get back, and is why I thought we'd go for a walk.  Because Dad is nothing if not ALL about birthdays.  Usually the birthday kid gets to do anything they want on their birthday, unless its something crazy.  Last year, Liam had us take him and the twins out paintballing and go to an amusement park on Spring Break.  Sara wanted to go to New York for shopping on Labor Day weekend, and Kayle went with me to Disneyworld for a couple of days with me an dDad.  Stiles and I will talk to you later and figure out what you’d like to do, but there’s something I’d like to ask first,” he answered.

“Ok?” David asked, cautiously.

“I’d like for you to at least try to go to therapy for a few weeks,” Derek said.

David’s chest plummeted.  SO not what he was expecting to hear.

“Therapy?” David asked cautiously.  He tried not to let the hurt go through.  “I’m…  I’m not sick or anything!  I don’t need therapy!  Why would I need it?!” he exclaimed.  Frankly, he pretty much knew where Derek was getting at, but he could at least feign ignorance.

Derek shook his head.  “No, you’re not sick.  You’re hurt, and that’s all it takes to really need therapy.  Someone to help talk things out.  I had therapy for a few years after I first married Stiles, and it was about 13 years overdue” he explained.

“You?” David spat, nearly fainting at the news.  An Alpha having therapy?  That was insane.

“My father died when I was young, and that really changed who I was as a person.  Then I came out as a gay Alpha, where not everyone in the town took that well.  I became an Alpha when I was barely eight, and went through a week of solid abuse from my Uncle Peter, even though it was necessary.  I was emotionally broken into pieces growing up, and had nervous breakdowns when it came to my sexuality.  That kind of shit follows you wherever you go, David.  I don’t want you having that as well.  I won’t make you, but…” Derek said, sighing.  “I know what it’s like having a difficult childhood and trying to hide it under a mask, or…  A hood,” he said, putting his arm around David and pulling him into a half-hug.  

David felt his chest heave out a deep breath and burn tightly.  

“David, your Alpha abused you.  I haven’t said anything up until this point, but…  Your Alpha is what we call a “Failed Alpha”.  I’ve already reported him to the werewolf council, and they’re investigating him as we speak.  Last I’ve heard, the council is bringing him up on charges of abuse of authority,” Derek said.

David’s heart thumped loudly.  He wasn’t even a little bit upset about that news, and mildly giddy.  Maybe that meant his mom and siblings could get free of him and have a new life like he was having.  It was odd.  He used to want his father’s love and attention for so long, and now he didn’t even care that his father might go to jail.  

No…  Someone else was taking his father’s place in the need to want love.  Someone whose arm was gripping his shoulder right now, like a real father should have.  

David never got touched by his Alpha, or by extension, his father.  Well, except for that last day, and David didn’t count “a fist to the face” as affection.

“A Failed Alpha is an Alpha that, for whatever reason, can’t provide their pack with the protection they need.  Because they can’t actually earn respect anymore, they utilize the Alpha Commands to force it.  David, that man failed you as a father, and was never a real Alpha.  He took out his frustration on you, and I know what he said after you came out had to hurt.  I know because I remember how scared to death I was coming out to my uncle.  Even after he accepted me, I was always scared to death of him taking it back.  I can’t imagine what it’s like to be outright rejected,” Derek said, hugging him a little more tightly as they stopped next to an old oak tree.  

“It sucks,” David said, surprisingly blunt.  He sighed to himself.  “What’s therapy like?” he asked, in equal bluntless.

“A therapist is just a good friend who’s going to let you talk about everything you’ve been through.  I’ve got one who I use, Dr. Ren, who doesn’t respond unless you ask him to respond.  You can talk for an hour, and he won’t say anything.  Or, he can talk for an hour and you don’t have to say anything,” Derek answered.

“You say he’s good?” David asked.

Derek nodded.  “I’d trust him with anything,” he answered.

David nodded.  “I can try,” he mumbled quietly.

“You’ll feel better,” Derek said, as they started the long walk back to the Hale House.  “Liam’s in therapy too, he goes to Dr. Ren as well.  You can ask him any questions you have that you might not want to ask me.  I'm sure Liam wouldn't mind, and the house knows about him being in therapy, but don't share that with anyone outside of the pack,” he replied.

They walked in a shared silence after that.  

At least, until David looked up to Derek.  “Does it get better?” he asked.  

Derek nodded immediately, with a solid smile.  “Just if you keep moving forward.  If you do, something bright will happen,” he answered confidently.

+

David had no more opened the front door when a mighty explosion and dozens of pops hit his and Derek’s face.  Paper, sparkles, and party blow toys roared and danced over them.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” the entire house shrieked all at once.

David’s face was covered in streamers from the party poppers.  Derek’s hair was covered in glitter.  They both had the same annoyed look with being covered in just about everything under the sun.

Though his attention was at the cake that Sara was holding, in what David assumed had been a cake ordered weeks ago.

Happy Birthday David was written in curved blue icing, atop a cake that had been carved into a stack of books.  Like something off of Ace of Cakes, it was hyper-realistic.  Fourteen candles were burning brightly atop the cake.

It looked professionally done, but someone had been using icing to add more words, probably in the time he and Derek had gone out to walk.  Instead, it actually read:

Happy BirthdayS 1-14 David Hale

Stiles popped up, hugging David around the neck.  “Don’t worry!  We’re DEFINITELY making up for lost time buddy boy.  Like TOTAL birthday MONTH for you!  Come on, cake and dessert BEFORE breakfast, and then we’re doing ALL the things EVER,” he exclaimed.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG BRO!” Kayle shouted, jumping up and down at David’s side.  The child had Sidney dressed up in a party hat.

The rest of them were guiding him through the house, with a thousand conversations going all at once.  Promises of parties with friends, going out for dinner, and talk about the kind of books David wanted for his birthday.

Coming back into the kitchen, David saw a stack of neatly wrapped presents.  There was a huge banner hanging on the wall, obviously hand-drawn by Kayle, with a cute drawing of stick figures that he thought must have been him and Kayle up in their tree.  Then there was dozens of birthday-like decorations covering the house, probably pulled out of the storage in the basement.

He didn’t know how Stiles had decorated the entire place in the span of a 20 minute walk, but having dozens of children, nieces, and nephews probably made it easier.  

Stiles bent down, patting David on the shoulder as he was sat on the table.  The rest of the family was singing happy birthday as they pushed his cake forward to him, but Stiles was whispering instead.

“You’re worth celebrating, son.  Don’t let anyone think you’re not,” Stiles said, before obnoxiously singing louder than anyone else in the house.

David smiled, nearly crying in the process.  

 _“I’m family,”_ he finally thought, for the first time in his life.

 

 


	20. David's Tale : 4/5

_Dear Journal,_

_I never expected to say it._

_It just felt normal and came out.  Though I’m glad it happened._

+

Therapy turned out to be better than David had expected.  Dr. Ren was everything Derek had promised, and more.  The man, a skinny Kitsune Dae in his early thirties with orchid pink hair, could sit for hours on end, never speaking once.  Which is how David wanted things for a while, just talking about everything he’d gone through, and how he felt about living with the Hales.

Though when Dr. Ren did talk, only when David had questions, the man answered in the way he’d expect someone like Dumbledore to answer.

Such as when David asked if he should feel bad about his father going to jail, which was definitely going to happen.  After living with the Hales for nearly half a year, rage had bubbled up in David’s stomach.  Rage at having been put through hell and never having a right childhood, all because of his father’s failings.  He knew what a real family was like now, what he had been in was more or less a room full of people who happened to share DNA.

To which Dr. Ren replied quietly, “Nobody can tell you how to feel, that comes from you, and it’s nothing you can help.  All I can say is that it’s what you do with those feelings that truly matter.  Do you let them overtake you and let them dictate your daily life, or will you try and move forward and find better feelings to replace them?”

David liked Dr. Ren, and his once a week session right after school was something he looked forward to.  

Because an hour of bitching about his problems and life turned out to make him more open with his family.

Such as one day after school, when David walked into a near-empty house, only to smell Stiles’ stew cooking on the stove.  Sara had dropped him off before taking Liam to his own session of therapy, and while the twins were running the whole way home from school as practice for the spring cross-country tryouts.

Four boiling pots was wafting steak, potatoes, and a hell of a lot of vegetables.  Stiles was still working on the cornbread, and a bowl of what David assumed was cookie batter for dessert.

“David!  Can you come help me?  I don’t want to burn the soup!” Stiles asked, nearly begging.

Hustling over to kitchen counter, David took over the cornbread mixing.  Not that it was very hard, but it did need mixing.  

“Where is everyone?” David asked, moving to Stiles’ side.  His nose and ears couldn’t smell anyone else in the house but Kayle, who was upstairs snoozing in David’s room.

A loud sigh escaped Stiles’ mouth.  “Your Alpha father had a call this morning to defend Beacon Hill’s territory.  Apparently there’s a group of young demons that came through late last night and killed a local farmer’s stock, and injured several people.  They’re out hunting the demons and trying to corral them for arrest with the Argents,” he offered.  He then glared over to David.  “Your Uncle Scott threw a fit that he drew the short straw on who stayed behind with Kayle and the kids, so I traded with him.  I mean, dinner would suck if he cooked it, and I just can't ever say no to your Uncle's puppy eyes,” he said, laughing.

David felt his heart throb just a bit too loudly.  Demons weren’t like Uncle Jackson or the good Daes like him of today.  They relished in the thought of causing misery and pain, like all the old stories told.  They weren’t part of the Dae movement and didn’t even try to make peace with the other races.

“They going to be okay?” he asked cautiously.

Stiles nodded.  “Yes, they’ll be fine.  There’s your father, Uncle Scott, Aunt Allison, Uncle Isaac, Aunt Kira, Uncle Jackson, Aunt Lydia, and Grandpa Argent.  8 unrealistically strong people against 3 teenage demons who were trying to be bad-asses.  They’re going to be fine.  Maybe a scratch or boo-boo, but they’ll heal,” he explained.  

“Okay,” David responded.  He still worried, knowing how awful Demons could be, but if Stiles wasn’t worried about his husband or family, there really wasn't a need to be worried.  He’d long since learned that Wisps were more than capable of feeling emotions as far as 50 miles away.  There wasn’t a day he didn’t know if Liam had gotten a bad grade, or if Sara was frustrated with her gymnastics practice.  Stiles always knew and was always ready and willing to talk.  If there was danger, Stiles would know.

Stiles hummed quietly as he stirred the dinner pots.  “So how was school today?  How about therapy?” he asked.

“I let Dr. Ren talk a lot today, and answered his questions, so it was pretty easy.  School was good.  Got an A on my research essay for Mrs. Goza, and I got on the list for baseball tryouts,” David admitted.

“You like baseball?” Stiles asked curiously.

David shrugged.  “Not big on lacrosse like the twins are.  I hate football, and I don’t have patience for basketball.  But I figure I can hit a ball with a metal bat and have fun.  Stephen is trying out too,” he admitted bashfully.

“Oh?” Stiles said, with a playful grin.  “Is this the same Stephen that you joined the chess club to spend time with?  Why haven’t you invited him over for dinner or to hang out yet?  You know you’re more than welcome to have him meet the family.  All of us but Lydia don't bite,” he asked, with an all-knowing smirk.  

David flushed.  “I uh..  No.  We’re just school buddies,” he lied.

Stiles chuckled.  “Sure!” he responded, with a clear air of disbelief.  “So he’s not your mate, you’re not head over heels in love with him, have him as your lock screen picture on your phone, and you continue to forget that your father is a wisp and knows everything about your heart on a daily basis?”

“I uh…  I mean…” David responded, finding it hard to focus.  

Switching off the pots of boiling stew, Stiles laughed to himself.  “You can wait to tell the others, but if you want to talk about it, I already know.  Sorry, I can’t help it,” he said, patting David on the back.

It took a few moments of silent mixing before David let out a low groan.  “Dad, it’s like I want to be around him all the time.  I’m joining a sports team just to make that happen, and I HATE sports.  Do you have any idea how many times I’ve been yelled at by the chess coach for not knowing how to play right?  But it’s like I can handle all of that bullshit, because spending time with him is worth it,” he explained.

Stiles smiled, quietly moving over to the cookie batter and rolling the dough into balls that he would plop on a pre-greased tray..  

“I know he’s gay too, because we’re friends on facebook, and that’s what his profile says, and he’s pretty open about it.  I’m dying to tell him he’s my mate, but then…  For God’s sake, how awkward is that?!” David said, pouring the cornbread mix into the mold.  “Gee Stephen, I know we’ve just met a few weeks ago and were pretty good buddies, but I’m a werewolf and want to be with you for the rest of my life!  Are you ready for six years of awkward courting and not being able to make out until we’re sixteen?” he said, in a mockingly low-pitched tone.

Stiles snorted.  “Oh my God, you sound just like Derek, stop that!” he said, laughing as he continued to ball cookies on the tray.

David smirked, moving the mixing bowl to the sink and washing it out.  “How did you…  How did you react when Derek told you?” he asked.  

Humming pleasantly in a fond memory, Stiles stole a bite of the dough and smirked.  “Derek and I had been best friends since we met the first day in kindergarten.  He’d come out as gay, and I’d come out as bi.  After that, it just sort of made sense for Derek to finally admit we were mates.  Of course, he did it in the most dramatic way possible after I’d uh…  I’d done a wisp thing that I’m not going to scar you with, but after that, we became best friends with romantic intentions.  Which wasn’t all that different, to be honest.  Just with more kissing, which I wasn’t going to argue about,” he answered.

“It didn’t freak you out?” David asked immediately.

Stiles shrugged.  “What race is Stephen?” he asked.

David flushed.  “He’s a uh…  He’s a Western Fox Dae, his family is from Canada.  So he’s kind of a winter spirit kind of guy and can make it snow and shit?  You should see his tail, it’s like fluffy white snow and so soft…” he answered dreamily.

“So he’s out as a Dae, like Jackson?” Stiles asked.

“Yeah, he is,” he responded.

“In that case, I think he’d not be all that bothered.  Daes have weird mating standards just like werewolves.  Though you will have to court him, since he’s not a werewolf.  I think he’d be fine with it, and I’m sure if he’s really a Dae, he probably already knows about your feelings anyway.  Jackson’s not as good as me, but he definitely knows human emotions better than a human does,” Stiles responded.

“You think?” David asked nervously.  

Stiles nodded.  “I’m absolutely sure.  Just follow your heart, and you’ll never be-”

The heartwarming moment was broken as Stiles’ eyes blew out.  He dropped the dough he’d been holding, and hitched his breath.  

“Oh God….” Stiles said, dropping everything as he spun around and jogged towards the living room.  

Sensing the change in atmosphere, David followed behind Stiles and they both made it just in time for them to see the front door swing open, and for their family to enter the home.

Or more correctly, Derek to be carried in by Scott and Kira.

David’s eyes blew out just like Stiles’ had.

Derek looked like hell.  His clothes were torn and ripped in every which way, leaving him practically naked, save for his tattered jeans.  He was bleeding profusely from the hundreds of claw-deep wounds, leaving a trail dribbling behind him.  David could spot bone through several cuts, and his father’s face was twisted in pain.  He was awake, which made it all the worse to watch, as second hand pain came off Derek in torrential waves.

The rest of the family piled in, helping Derek to limp his way over to the couch.

“I’m fine!  Guys, I’m fine, don’t worry,” Derek said, chuckling profusely as he tried very hard not to cry or cringe with each step he took.  Though he fell flat on the couch, groaning loudly.  Their leather couch was now spattered with blood.

“You are NOT fine!” Stiles and David said in unison, both with the same high pitched worry screaming at them.  

Derek groaned, shutting his eyes as his body relaxed into the couch. “I’m already healing.  It’s all superficial wounds that hurt like hell, but won’t kill me.  I’ll be normal in about an hour, but would really appreciate some first aid,” he explained.

Stiles spun around to Scott.  David noted how cold the room had turned, coming mostly from Stiles himself.  “What happened?  You told me this was EASY!  How did three teenagers do this to Derek?!” he yelled.

Scott sighed, as the rest of the adults disbursed away, knowing better than to deal with a raging Stiles.  Even Lydia’s eyes were averted, using Jackson as her own human shield.  “The demons knew they were done for and about to get arrested by Argent, so they tried to jump our Alpha on a three-on-one bullshit with their claws and fangs, hoping it would make us weaker.  Instead, me and Isaac grabbed two of the assholes off Derek immediately and broke every bone in their body.  Derek got the last one, but the jump had lasted a good minute of them trying very hard to kill him.  So he uh…  He had a pretty tough time there for a bit.  Derek looked a lot worse before we got him out of the forest,” he admitted weakly.

“My husband, everyone’s favorite target,” Stiles said, rolling his eyes.  “Whatever, are they taken care of?” he asked.

Isaac nodded.  “Argent got them in a holy net.  We’re heading back to help him with transportation to the holding cell at the prison, since they’ll heal just as fast as Derek does.  If that’s okay?” he asked, turning to Derek.

The Alpha nodded.  “Yes, yes…  Thank you for getting me home.  Go help Chris, he needs you more than I do.  Let me bleed in peace,” he said, still trying to laugh through the pain.

Doing as they were told, most of the adults made their way back outside the house.

Stiles mumbled something about Derek making him go grey early, and went back to the kitchen to grab the oft-used first aid kit.    

Still standing there, David kept eyeing Derek, unable to stop himself from shaking.  Honestly, he’d never been worked about Derek before, he looked strong enough to take on the entire world.  Sadly, it appeared as though even his Alpha wasn’t immune from pain.  

“I’m not dying David,” Derek said, patting the ground next to him.  “Come on, see for yourself.  You can probably see the wounds already closing.  If you’re worried, you can take some of my pain, it would be very appreciated,” he said weakly.  .

Not needing any more of an invitation, David fell to his knees next to Derek’s side.  Sure enough, David could see that the deep cuts were already steaming shut from the healing process.  The bleeding was also lessening, though they were definitely going to have to get another couch.

“I’m so happy you’re okay Pops,” David mumbled.  He took his hand and laid it on Derek’s chest.  Black veins popped up in his arm and hand, as pain escaped from Derek and into DAvid.  The younger Alpha didn’t actually feel the same pain, but his stomach was knotting and he immediately felt ill.

Derek laughed, tweaking David’s nose with a bright smile.  “I’m made of pretty strong stuff.  You, Scott, Josh and Jeremy are the same way.  We’ve got to be, since we’ve got a lot to protect.  This is what Alphas do David, you still sure you want to be in the running for it?” he answered.

David nodded.  “Y… Yeah,” he whispered.  He calmed himself down, noting that Derek was practically already back to his old self.  

“I’m not going to break, Kayle you can come down and see Papa,” Derek said, breaking his and David’s conversation  

David spun around, glancing as his little brother.  Kayle looked hurt, tears running down his face.  He hadn’t even heard the pup get up from his nap, but it was obvious that he’d seen and heard most of it.  “PAPA!” he yelled, running down the stairs and nearly tripping on the last one.  “PAPA HAS BOO BOOS!” he yelled, with ear-shattering shrieks.

Clambering on top of Derek, Kayle’s youthful mind was oblivious as he kneed a still-healing would, opening it back up as Derek bit his bottom lip to stop from screaming.  Kayle made himself comfortable on Derek’s chest, crying into his neck.  

“Well look at that, it just takes me getting cut to pieces to get a little attention from you,” Derek said, hefting Kayle up with a grunt as the pup laid atop some of the already closed wounds.  Derek pet his son’s head, pressing a kiss on Kayle’s temple.  The child was still sobbing over his Papa’s “boo boos”.  

Derek ruffled the child’s hair.  “Papa’s going to be okay.  Isn’t that right David?” he asked, glancing over to David to confirm that information for Kayle.

The pup lifted his snotty face up, hiccuping.  “Is Papa gonna be okay David?” Kayle asked.  

Trying to put on a brave face himself, David nodded.  “Yeah.  If Pops says he’s going to be alright, then he’s gonna be alright,” he explained.  

Kayle’s tears stopped momentarily, to make way for a small smile.  “You called him Pops!  Is Papa your Papa now?!  Are we REAL brothers now?!” he exclaimed, jumping up and causing Derek to groan uncomfortably with his few still open wounds.  

David, taken aback, tried to think about what he was talking about.  It only then hit him he’d been calling Derek…  

Pops.

It had come out so naturally.  He hadn’t even intended to ever call Stiles & Derek as his fathers, but…  Now that he thought about it, he’d called Stiles dad earlier as well.  

Because frankly, that’s what they were.  

The first fathers he’d ever had.

“David’s ALWAYS been your real brother,” Derek said, holding Kayle up in the air with one hand to stop the excited bouncing and asseverating the wounds on his chest.  

“I KNOW!” Kayle said, huffing as he folded his arms.  “But he didn’t call you and Daddy right names!  He does now!  So he’s a REAL brother now, cuz he says he's your son, right?!” he exclaimed.

David felt his own face smile as well.  He grabbed Kayle out of Derek’s hand, and let the pup sit on his shoulder.  “Well I am NOW.  Is that okay?” he asked the suddenly-happy pup.

“YES! YES YES YES YES!” Kayle said, giggling as the last of his sad tears evaporated.

Distracted by Kayle, David barely felt Derek’s hand slide down his face in a swiping motion.  Once vertically, from the forehead down to the, other horizontally between both cheeks, and a final one around the curve of his neck.

Slowly, David smiled, knowing exactly what it meant.

It was scenting.  Not that he hadn’t already been scented to hell and back with Kayle and Stiles, but it was the first time Derek had done it in an Alpha manner, with his Alpha eyes exploding in a bloody red.  It was an official marking, signifying that David was pack.  It was a silent, mutual understanding.  

David had accepted Derek as his father and as his Alpha.

Derek had acknowledged David as his son.

With David’s acceptance, the two way street was complete.

“Thanks… Pops,” David whispered.

Derek pulled both of his sons over to him in a big hug.  “I couldn’t ask for better sons,” he answered.

“BUT I COULD ASK FOR A HUSBAND THAT DIDN’T GET CUT UP ALL THE TIME!  Don’t EVEN think of being like your Papa Derek, David, or I WILL end you!” Stiles yelled from the kitchen.

David and Derek both snorted.

“Dad knows everything, doesn’t he?” David asked.

Derek nodded.  “I’ve yet to go one Christmas without him knowing what I got him or where I hid it.  Wisps are NOT fair,” he bemoaned.

“SAYS THE MAN WHO GOT A SIX PACK AUTOMATICALLY FROM PUBERTY!” Stiles yelled in equal frustration.


	21. David's Tale : Part 5/5

Life was normal for David Hale after the full adoption.  Derek and Stiles had made him an official part of their life in the spring of his first year living with the Hales, after complying with state regulations.  

His life before was gone, and there was no separation between him and the pack.  He wasn’t an outsider living in their home anymore.  

David Hale was proud to say he was the son of Stiles and Derek Hale, grandson of John Stilinski and Talia Hale, brother of Sara, Liam and Kayle Hale, and nephew to a godforsaken amount of relatives.  He was one of three Alphas in training to be the successor to the Hale Pack.  

That fact wouldn’t have been made any more clear than while on their Spring Break vacation.  

Just the Hale Family (Derek, Stiles, and their children, including Liam’s mate Mara) had escaped for a private family vacation on the beaches of Alabama in Dauphin Island.  

Outside of their beachside rental home, the six of them were sat in the sand and waves, enjoying their varying types of entertainment.  

Sara and Stiles, naturally, were building sand castles with Kayle.  The three of them shot death glares at anyone who might even tempt to get near their castles, and promised a swift icy death to those foolish enough to attack them.  

Liam and Mara were walking along the beach, hand-in-hand.  There had been a firm change in their relationship over the last few weeks.  Their desire to make out had been replaced with a desire to be near each other.  Derek said it was a normal part of the courting process, and that they weren’t all that far off from the last stages of courtship.  

Then there was Derek and David, laying near each other on beach towels, both of them reading books, not all that eager to get dirty in the sand.  

David was a tad embarrassed not wearing a shirt on the beach, since he’d gone through some pretty rapid changes since starting down his path of being an Alpha.  He had defined pecs, and the starting signs of a six pack.  Much like Derek, he’d gotten some chest hair, but was far from even remotely looking like his dad.  Still, the kids at school had taken notice, and he constantly got date offers from all of the girls in class.  Which he had to politely refuse, since he hadn’t shared his sexuality with anyone other than the immediate family.

Well, except for the one person who mattered.

Shutting his book, Derek turned to his son with a smirk, likely hearing the uptick in David’s heart.  “So…  I’ve been dying to ask you.  When are you going to bring Stephen to meet the family?  Hasn’t it been long enough with his parents?” he asked.

Groaning, David slammed his book shut.  “Pops, we’ve been over this.  Stephen’s a fox dae, and his parents are very skittish around him dating anyone other than another dae.  Until they know they can trust me, Stephen can’t be alone with me,” he answered.

“Ridiculous,” Derek said, shaking his head.  “Any self-respecting dae should know we werewolves would rather die than hurt our mate,” he spat.

“Yeah, well, try telling them that,” David said glumly.

Derek smiled sneakily.  “Well…  Maybe I did?” he mumbled under his breath, without much in the way of subtly.

“Oh nononono…  That is never good when you talk like that.  DAD, what did he do?!” David exclaimed, yelling from the beach towel.

“I know nothing!” Stiles yelled, smirking.

“Nothing!” Sara and Kayle replied, in a similar sing-song tune.

David was about to glare angrily at Derek on what he’d done when it was all too obvious exactly what Derek HAD done.

“DAVID!” a male voice yelled.

David felt his heart thud loudly.  Turning around, from the next rental house over, he saw a teenage boy hop out of a family SUV that had just pulled up.  Not just any boy, but one particularly attractive fox dae.

“Stephen!?” David shouted, doing a double take.  He tried very hard not to go into freakout mode.  

Stephen was remarkably short, standing a good foot lower than David.  He had soft white hair that came down to his shoulders, which matched a bushy white tail that came out of a hole in the back of his beach trunks.  Even for someone born in the north, Stephen’s pale skin was more white than peach, lacking much in the way of color.  He had a fluffy black hoodie on, one that David had long since given to him, given his unbearably cold body temperature and need for warmth even on the hottest of days.

“If Mara can come with us as Liam’s mate, then Stephen can as well.  I invited the Sommers’ to join us on vacation as well, since they wouldn’t let him come alone.  We’ll be discussing the courtship process tonight,” Derek said, patting David on the back.  “You can blame Dad on this one.  I wanted to let you make the invite, but you know Dad…  He has a horrific need for everyone to be happy,” he chuckled.  

Stephen had already helped his parents bring in the bags, two very old-looking individuals probably in their early 70’s by appearance alone.  Running out of the back door, he was already on the sand and wouldn’t be long away.

“Have fun.  In the meantime, I’m going to go make sure Liam and Mara aren’t busily adding to our family,” Derek chuckled, hopping up and making himself scarce.  As he said, he jogged down the beach after Liam and Mara.  He also earned a sandball in the face from Stiles and Sara as he walked by, which got Kayle giggling wildly.

Slamming down next to David, Stephen beamed ear to ear.  “Dude, I have always wanted to go to the beach!  Did you know your dad paid for me and my folks to come down here for a vacation and talk about US?!  Us doing the whole werewolf courtship and fox mating habits.  Then there’s the whole fact that your aunt Allison is an exorcist who can basically turn me into dust, and your dad is friends with the Argents.  Yeah, my mom and dad flipped over that, cuz even after the Dae rights movements and our separation from demons, we’re still treated like shit in places.  Oh, and Alabama is one of those places, we had to go to THREE gas stations before we didn’t get shooed away with bigots carrying crosses and chanting the book of John,” he answered, rolling his eyes as he shifted to a cross-legged position to let his tail curl around David’s leg.  

David smiled as a wave of cold hit him from Stephen’s tail, a nice breeze compared to the heat of the beach.  He barely had time to get a word in edgewise, with the endless string of conversations Stephen was already going on and on about.  Stephen was big on talking.  His voice was endless, warm, and comforted David.  He leaned against his mate, until he gagged as Stephen’s scent hit him.

“What?!” Stephen asked, smacking David on the shoulder playfully as the wolf continued to gag.

“You uh..  You smell like sunscreen, it’s a little much.  Like fake coconut, BLEH” David said, wrinkling his nose as he earned an incredulous glare from his mate.

Stephen laughed, trying to wipe in the cream a little better and get rid of the excess lotion.  “Sorry, I can’t tan, I just burn into a heap of red flesh.  Gotta love dae skin,” he said, leaning his head on David’s shoulder.  “You werewolves have really sensitive noses, it’s like CRAZY.  Can you like tell what I’ve had for breakfast?” he explained, huffing annoyingly in David’s face.

Snorting, David smiled as he playfully pushed Stephen away.  “McDonald's biscuit.  Holy crap, you should stop eating that genetically modified garbage and get some real red meat,” he said fake-gagging in response.  “Oh, and you call ME crazy?  You can make it freakin’ snow, and you think MY nose is special?” he yelled.

“Oh yeah, great.  I can inconvenience people by fucking up roadways and making Christmas wishes come true.  You’ve got super EVERYTHING.  How fucking fair is that?” Stephen whined.

“A PLANT can kill me.  I can’t step over mountain ash.  I’m not so super,” David retorted.

Stephen just shrugged.  “Meh, Bible scriptures or a stake to the chest kills me.  That’s the life of someone who isn’t human.  Though humans are super-fragile, so I guess that’s fair,” he answered.  

They both leaned into each other, David careful not to inhale the sunscreen this time.  

“So..  We’ve got a whole week on the beach.  What are you planning on doing?” Stephen asked, awkwardly lacing his fingers into David’s.  

David squeezed Stephen’s hand back.  “Chess practice?  Beach lounging?  Trying to ignore the fact that our parents are talking behind our backs and talking about us not having sex until we’re legally able?” he said.

“Oh my God, put those ears DOWN Lassie, there are some things I do NOT need to know about,” Stephen groaned.

+

Stephen’s parents had joined Stiles at the sand castles.  Sara took Kayle to go play with Liam and Mara, while Derek had re-joined his husband.

Mr. and Mrs. Sommers, two elderly fox daes from Canada, found great difficulty in sitting down.  Their bones crackled painfully, and Stiles cringed as he felt their secondhand agony that came from their advanced age.

“I suppose…  We ought to talk,” Mr. Samuel Sommers said, pulling a bottle of diet pepsi from a thick winter coat.  His arthritic hands struggled to open the cap, which Derek had to assist him with.

Stiles nodded.  “My husband would be the better explainer on this one, but David’s chosen Stephen as his mate.  And from what I can tell, Stephen seems to have reciprocated those feelings  I assume that is correct?”

“Oh yes…  Stephen talks about David all night long, he’s definitely smitten,” Mrs. Bonnie Sommers said, shaking her head.  

Derek cleared his throat.  “Well, then..  I guess we should discuss the courting process, though it’s not all that difficult as it was when I was his age.  I’m a little more open to modern dating exercises, just as long as they’re supervised for a year to earn our trust.  I just want-”

“He looks like you, and I can tell you care very much about him.  I’m sure you’re very proud of your son,” Bonnie said.

Derek shut his mouth immediately.  

“So I suppose you two had a surrogate for him?  He must be Derek’s blood,” Bonnie said, cackling as she pinched Derek’s cheek.  “So handsome, just like his father!” she said.

Stiles smiled.  “Oh yes, Derek is handsome isn’t he?” he proclaimed mockingly, pinching the other cheek.  “David is adopted.  All of our children are adopted, but they’re basically our flesh and blood anyway.  David’s our son, without a doubt”

“Oh,” Bonnie said, clearly surprised.  “Well, blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.  Anyway, we ought to talk about fox dae mating too,” she answered.

Stiles lost interest in hearing Derek’s werewolf courting speech again, he’d already gone through it with Mara and Liam, he didn’t need to hear it again.  So instead, he snuck glances over at the beach blankets that David and Stephen were laid out on.  Kayle had joined them, and both teens were helping him bury Liam in the sand.  

Stiles could feel the secondhand joy reverberating off his children.  Stephen was fitting in within seconds, though he wasn’t surprised.  David’s wolf had really picked a great guy.  Their family was going to be even bigger and stronger.

Everything felt right.  So perfect.

Leaning against Derek, Stiles could feel his own ho-hum buzz of joy.  

“No,” Derek said, nudging Stiles.

Stiles raised an eyebrow.  “Whaaaaat?” he responded, whining loudly, much to the Sommers’ confusion.

Derek sighed.  “The last time you leaned on me like that and hummed, you had me call the council to put us back on active adoption,” he said, shaking his head.  

“Just three more?  Two and a baby?  Sara’s about to graduate, I’m losing my babies!” Stiles whined, leaning against Derek and pushing with all the strength he could manage.

**_< End of David’s Tale>_ **

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Where would you like the story to head next? :3


	22. Scott's Tale : Part 1/3

Two months after Kyle Hale had passed away, Scott and Melissa had found themselves at his graveside behind the Hale Home.  February, to be precise.  Just a few more months and Scott would be starting Kindergarten.  God willing.

Unlike typical graveyards, there was no headstone.  There was no flowers.  No signal that even a body had been buried.  Except for a newly planted tree, with tiny twigs and green leaves busheled in groups.  

“Why’s Uncle Kyle in the ground?” Scott asked, tugging at his mother’s dress while he fidgeted in his thick jacket.  

Melissa bit the bottom of her lip.  “Because Uncle Kyle died, sweetheart.  That means he is sleeping for a long time, and he’s not with us anymore.  He’s in heaven now, with Mrs. Stilinski,” she explained.  Despite her many failings in life when it came to relationships, Scott was different.  She’d never lie to her son.  

“Oh.  Okay,” Scott said, with a tilted face that said he had no idea what his mother was talking about.  Though he bent down, letting go of his mother’s hand and sitting cross-legged by the graveside.  “Hi Uncle Kyle!  Um…  Mommy says you were her friend before my daddy wouldn’t let you guys be friends anymore.  Sorry I can’t see you, but you’re kind of under dirt, and Mommy gets mad when I dig holes,” she explained.

Melissa chuckled at the sight, shaking her head as she stepped backwards.  A warm hand touched her shoulder.  

“I missed you coming in.  Sorry, I’ve been trying to coax Derek out of hiding.  I swear that boy can fit into spaces smaller than his body mass,” Talia sighed, leaning her head on Melissa’s head.  

Frowning, Melissa sighed.  It really was the worst time imaginable to move in with the Hales.  Frankly, if there was any other Alpha in the area, she would have gone to them.  But with Kyle dead, and with Talia inheriting his Alpha status, she was the only one within fifty miles.  

Plus, Talia had INSISTED.  She said the house was too empty without Kyle, and with Peter handling the family affairs outside of town, they were all alone.

“How is everything?  I know we only talked briefly at the center, but…  Oh Talia, I’m so sorry I’ve been scare,” Melissa said, hugging Talia’s neck tightly.

Talia tried to put on a brave face.  “My husband died protecting his family, and I couldn’t be prouder.  As his mate though, it’s like someone took my heart and put it through a meat grinder.  Peter tried to explain everything to him, but…  Well, Derek just hides under his bed.  He won’t come out for anything.  He doesn’t eat, doesn’t sleep, just…  Shifts into his wolf half and pines.  I tried to get him to a counselor, but..  Nothing helps.  I’m scared, Melissa.  I’m very scared this is going to break him,” she said, sniffing as she wiped a few tears from her face.

“I’m sorry,” Melissa said, hugging Talia even tighter.  

Laughing, Talia ran her fingers through her long hair.  “I never even realized it.  I knew Derek loved his father, and Kyle was most definitely Derek’s anchor keeping him calm, but I never…  I never realized how little I know about my own son.  How much my own son…  Despites me,” she said, huffing frustratingly.  

“Your son does not despise you.  He’s hurt right now, but he doesn’t hate you,” Melissa assured Talia, letting go of her friend as Scott finished his rather confusing conversation with Kyle.

Scott glanced up, switching glances back and forth between Talia and Melissa.

“Is this your friend Mommy?” Scott asked.

Melissa nodded, bending down and putting her hand on Scott’s shoulder.

“This is Talia, and…  We’re going to be living with her from now on.  This is our new home,” she explained, trying to keep her composure about the whole.

The child blinked a few times, looking at the woods excitedly.  It was a lot better than the suburbs they lived in with a backyard the size of a postage stamp.  Melissa knew he’d love running around in the wild.  

She’d hoped it would distract Scott.

Unfortunately, Scott had too much of a heart in him.

“How come Alpha Rafe isn’t with us?” Scott asked curiously.  

Melissa bit the bottom of her lip.  “Because Alpha Rafe wasn’t very nice to you or me,” she said, petting Scott’s soft brown hair softly.  She could still see the non-healed scar sticking out of the edge from Scott’s collar, one of MANY that Rafe had commanded Scott not to heal.  The bruises on her back and body were still throbbing, despite pain killers and Talia’s pain removal service.  

Scott pouted.  “But Alpha Rafe said that I got that cuz I was bad.  I deserved it,” he said, clearly conflicted about the statement.  

Seeing red, Melissa shook her head fervently. “Scott…  You have never done anything wrong.  Nothing he’s ever done to you is because you were bad or you did anything wrong.  You are a good boy, and I want you to know that. Do you understand me?” she asked, cringing painfully at the very sight of her son blaming himself.  

Because it wasn’t Scott fault.  Rafe had come home from a difficult day at work, and stepped on one of Scott’s stuffed animals by accident.  It hadn’t hurt the man in the slightest, but he went into a raging fit.  He yelled at Scott for being such a “failure”, threw him against their china cabinet, where the boy had gotten glass stuck in just about every inch of his body.  He then proceeded to beat the hell out of Melissa, who had smacked the asshole in the skull with a golf club after treating her son that way.  

To which, Melissa called the police and Talia immediately.  Rafe was taken away, and the were-council forced Rafe to give up his Alpha claim on Scott, and their marriage was immediately annulled.

Still, despite everything, Scott still had a deep connection with his father.  Wolf blood superseded emotional trauma.  It would take a while before Scott could really let go, and even longer before he realized what his father was.

“And I’m your new Alpha!” Talia answered, bending down next to Scott, and taking his free hand.  “I’m Alpha Talia, and I hope we can be close.  We’ll make a great pack, okay?” she explained, as Scott shook her hand limply.  

Scott sort of shrugged.  “Okay Alpha Talia, if mommy says it’s okay,” he answered, looking up to his mother, as if for advice.  Which was odd, given his red Alpha eyes.  Melissa tried desperately to understand why an Alpha pup would be so submissive, so unsure of himself.  It was a direct (and very odd) attack on his genetics.  

Maybe one day he’d understand what it meant to be an Alpha.  Melissa knew he’d be a great one.  Even as a child, he was the most honest soul she knew in the world.

Chuckling, Melissa nodded, pressing a kiss onto Scott’s cheek.  “Yes sweetie, you can.  Now come on, let’s go get your bags moved in,” she said, patting him on the back.

+

Scott watched his mother put away the last of his clothes in a dresser to the side of his room.  He would be sharing it with another werewolf, who Talia said was his pack brother.  He hadn’t seen Derek yet, Talia said he was a really good hider.

“Okay then…  I think that’s everything!” Melissa said, throwing the last of Scott’s bags into his and Derek’s shared closet.  

Scott nodded, adjusting the last of his plush animals on his bed.  He had about a dozen of them, though the most IMPORTANT one was definitely Sidney, who sat at the top of the plush pack.  It was a wolf plushie that his grandma gave him, that had been in his family for a very long time, and was supposed to be the BESTEST friend in the world.  Hopping up on the bed, he hugged Sidney tightly, glancing around the room as his mother hovered and dusted off a few spots.  

“Well…  How about you play up here a while so Talia and I can talk downstairs about some grownup stuff.  No listening in, promise?” Melissa asked.

“Promise!” Scott said, already lining his toys up to play “Hunting”.  

Exiting the room, Melissa left Scott to his own devices.  He played for a little while, letting Sidney and his plushie pals hunt the big bag imaginary demons, and pretend that Scott was their Alpha, hugging them when they got boo-boos and taking their pain.  

It was a very dramatic performance.

A performance that ended as Demon King “Dee” (Scott’s big red pillow) went POW against his teddy bear, flying off the bed and rolling under Derek’s.

“Oh no!  We’ll save you Barry!” Scott shouted, tucking Sidney under his arm and jumping off the bed.  He growled playfully, forcing his body under the bed.  Scott had just finished his dramatic rescue as a pair of glowing red eyes met his.  He jumped, letting his own eyes glow their dramatic red, and growled.

“Go away.  My bed,” the mysterious red eyes barked.  

Scott snarled.  “I was SAVING Barry!” he said, kissing the top of his bear’s head.

“MY bed,” the eyes spat, met with an equally vicious snarl.

Both eyes were in a standoff.  At least, until Scott got very bored, very quickly.  He let his eyes fade down to their ho-hum scarlet.  “Okay, your bed.  I’m sorry,” he answered, walking away and jumping back on the top of his bed.  He let Barry and Sidney attack the finishing blow on Demon King Dee, and the pillow was thrown off the bed and clear across the room.  There was a victory party, where Barry and Sara (a stuffed pig) got happily married.

It was after the remarkable imaginary banquet of steak and hamburgers that the red eyes finally eased out from under the bed.  Derek raised his eyebrows, glaring at Scott.

“What are you doing?” Derek asked, as Scott let Barry and Sara kiss each other.  

Scott smiled.  “I’m playing HEROES!  Sidney’s the Hero, and he’s got Hero friends that help save the world!  They make all the bad demons go away forever and ever!” he exclaimed.

Derek frowned.  “That’s stupid,” he grumbled, folding his arms as he kept half of his body hidden under the bed.  “Heroes are STUPID,” he added, in a venomous tone.

“Nuh uh!  Heroes are the BESTEST.  Cuz they save the day and save people!  My Mommy is a hero, cuz that’s what my grandma says!” Scott said, challenging Derek immediately.  

“Heroes are DUMB.  Cuz they DIE and go away forever!” Derek yelled, gritting his teeth as he swiped his tiny claws against the hardwood floor.  

Scott glared at Derek for a few minutes, huffing as he went back to Sidney, hugging his stuffed wolf.  “Don’t listen to him Sidney, you’re a REAL hero,” he assured the wolf, as if Derek had dared to offend the stuffed wolf.

“Then Sidney is DUMB,” Derek muttered.

Ignoring the dummy-butt, Scott played quietly for a few minutes, before something hit him.

“Are you Derek, my brother?  Talia said I’m a pack-brother to Derek,” Scott asked.  

Derek’s eyebrows rose up, as if Scott had just insulted him.  “You’re not my brother,” Derek spat.  

Scott frowned.  “But Alpha Talia-”

“My Alpha is my Daddy.  Nobody else!” Derek yelled, covering his ears as he continued to make himself under the bed.  “TALIA IS NOT ALPHA!  SHE’S NOT!  DADDY IS ALPHA!  DADDY!” he shrieked, as he shook violently.

Scott shrugged, frowning, but also hopping off the bed and moving next to Derek with Sidney in hand.  He smelled sad all over Derek.  His tummy hurt, and Scott knew he needed to make that sad go away.  Alpha Rafe said that was “instinct”, whatever that was.

“Okay.  Well, Talia’s my Alpha now, cuz that’s what my mommy says.  My daddy used to be my Alpha too, but he’s not now.  Mommy said Daddy had to go away,” Scott said, laying down on top of Derek, who was still trembling violently.  His heartbeat was scary.

Derek took a while to calm down, but went a whole lot faster as Scott nuzzled his nose against Derek’s neck.  

“Why’d your Daddy go away?” Derek asked shakily.  He sniffed back snot, and Scott groaned at the disgusting sound as he shrugged.

“I don’t know!  Daddy told me I wasn’t his son anymore, and that’s that.  Mommy said it was because he hurt me.  I was bad, and he threw me in the Chinese Box thingy where mommy’s dishes were.  I had to go to the doctor!” Scott said, explaining the situation as though it were something casual.  Scott even lifted up his shirt, exposing his tiny pup body.  

Derek crawled out entirely, looking at the scars forming on the boy’s body.  Most of them were still in the process of healing, a pale peach as compared to the deep red they’d been days before.

“Your Alpha did that?” Derek asked, in a horror.  

Nodding, Scott pushed his shirt down.  “Yeah.  He said it was cuz I was bad, but mommy said I wasn’t.  So that’s why he wasn’t my Alpha anymore and why Alpha Talia is now.  I guess Daddy DID hurt me a lot, and I cried when he made all my boo-boos, so maybe my Daddy is bad...  I don’t get it, but Mommy says Alpha Talia is good, so I guess she’s good,” he said, shrugging.  

Derek growled hearing the name Alpha Talia, but shook his head.  “I’m sorry your Daddy was bad.  My Daddy had to go away, but he was a…  Mommy says he was a hero.  Just like Mr. and Mrs. Stilinski, my daddy’s friends.  Daddy was a hero, so that’s why he died,” he admitted.

“Was Uncle Kyle your Daddy?” Scott asked.

Derek nodded.

“I’m sorry,” Scott said, hugging Derek tightly.  He nuzzled Derek’s neck, scenting his new pack brother.  It was just what he did with people.  His tummy said it was right.  

Gruffly, Derek didn’t bother to move as Scott scented him.

+

Melissa and Talia finished the paperwork somewhere around 10 PM.  Talia became Scott’s legal guardian, and Melissa became Derek’s legal guardian.  A safety measure, given their track record with men.  

Not to mention the werewolf paperwork.  Peter had come by to make sure everything was legal to have Scott enter the Hale pack.  He left just as quickly, still reeling from Kyle’s death.  

So despite the late hour, they’d unwittingly left their sons hungry without dinner.  They’d at least need to get 12 hamburgers in them.  14 if Scott had been playing “Heroes”.

Though when they opened the door, what they saw was not what they were expecting.

Derek and Scott were splayed out on the hardwood floor.  Scott was using Derek’s chest as a pillow, and Derek had pulled Sidney close to his side.  Two pillows had been put up by Derek’s bed, a makeshift fort, while Scott’s toys were posted as guards nearby.

“Dear God, Derek is actually sleeping.  Thank God, I think Derek found an anchor,” Talia said, chuckling.

“A what?” Melissa asked.

“An anchor,” Talia said, as about a thousand pounds of weight went off her chest.  “It’s someone who can keep a wolf’s emotions tied down.  A comforting touch that can keep the beast at bay.  It takes a very special person to be an Anchor, and apparently Scott is one of them,” she answered.

Melissa folded her arms.  “You’re kidding!” she exclaimed.

“No,” Talia answered, beaming.  “I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough if it’s 100% true.  Though I’ve never known an Alpha to be an Anchor.  Your son is…  Odd,” she answered.

“I tend to agree,” Melissa agreed, beaming.  “He’s a little oblivious, it’s amazing he’s actually a werewolf,” he answered.  Melissa shook her head, patting Talia on the shoulder and choosing to not think too hard about this.  “Hush!  Let me get the camera and get a picture!  We’ll show this at their graduation, and they’ll just DIE!” she screeched.

 

 


	23. Scott's Tale : Part 2/3

Roughly a week before Derek would have his sexuality revealed to his friends, thirteen year old Scott Hale was struggling with his math homework.  Sat on his desk, with Sidney watching from the safety of his desklamp, Scott groaned, thudding his head against the table repeatedly.  

His violet second-in-command eyes, long since having lost their Alpha glow to Derek when they were children, rolled in his skull.

"Why do I care how long it takes for a train to get somewhere?  Screw this," Scott mumbled, slamming his book shut.  Spinning around, he turned to look at Derek, sitting where he ALWAYS sat these days, on his bed and moping professionally.

Derek was already in his pajamas, laid out and under the covers of his bed.  At 4 in the afternoon.  They'd gotten home from school, and Derek was already ready for bed, and was already having his eyes flicker and fade in and out of consciousness.

Something was definitely wrong with his brother.

"Derek, want to go out for a run?  I need to blow off some steam," Scott asked, hoping a thinly veiled request for his Alpha would get him outside.

"No," Derek answered immediately.  He shifted his position on the bed, with his face against the wall, curling into a ball.  Like he was trying to shrink into nothingness.

Scott raised an eyebrow.  Just by sheer scent, Derek had been spiraling downward for a while.  He'd lost weight, quit doing anything fun outside of sports (which was more like a chore at this point), and slept just about every hour he had outside of school.  Even the few times Scott could get him out of his funk, he went right back into his cloudy disposition moments later.  

Unfortunately, Scott hadn't gotten Derek out of that cloud in a very long time.  

"Okay.  How about we go hang out with Stiles and Jackson?  Mr. Stilinski bought Jackson the new Final Fantasy game, we could watch?  I hear it's awesome!" Scott asked.

Derek shook his head.  "You go.  I'm tired," he muttered quietly.  

Scott felt a shiver down his spine.  Derek's voice was near-lifeless.  He'd spoken in those hushed, self-loathing tones since the feral flip, since he'd nearly mauled Talia.  

Everything was falling apart in their pack, and his Alpha was at the middle of it.  He was losing his Alpha, losing his pack, and...  His brother.

"Dude, what's wrong with you?  You've been mopey for like three months.  Seriously," Scott said, hopping up from his desk and making a b-line for his brother.

"Nothin," Derek muttered, barely audible.

Scott grabbed Derek by his neck, shaking him.  "DEREK, TALK TO ME!" he roared.  His violet eyes bled red, as the edges began regaining their Alpha status long since lost.  

Derek's body was limp in Scott's hands.  His red eyes were distant, turning a pale pink.  His body smelt rotten, like everything was dying inside of him.

Shaking fearfully, Scott slapped Derek across the face.  "WAKE UP!  WAKE THE FUCK UP DEREK!  I'M SICK OF THIS BULLSHIT, NOW TALK TO ME!" he screeched, slamming his brother against the wall.  

Slowly, Derek's eyes seemed to flicker for a few moments.  

"Derek...  Derek tell me what's wrong!  Let me help you!" Scott begged.  He felt his head drop.  "Derek...  Everything sucks right now.  We're all freaking out, nobody's talking to each other, and...  You're falling to pieces.  I don't know what to do, but I...  I have to do something," he said.  

There really were options for Scott.  Kate, Allison's sister, had informed him that he could take back his Alpha status by challenging Derek to a brawl.  Which, would be easy to win, given his current status.

But...  He didn't want to do that.  

Scott wasn't their pack's Alpha.  He wasn't a leader, that was Derek.  

Derek just needed someone to pull him out of his pit.

On his own two feet, Derek slid down the length of the wall as Scott let him go, sitting on the floor.  

"Whatever," Derek said, finding a shallow breath.

Scott glanced at his brother on the floor.  His red eyes were slowly returning to normal, just as Scott's retained their violet hue.

"Mom says I need to find a mate, a girl.  She wants to send me to a shrink, and thinks there is something wrong with me," Derek grumbled.  Tears rolled down his eyes.  "She called me broken.  B.. Broken," he whispered.

Immediately, Scott knelt down, sitting next to his brother against the wall.  "Is that what this is about?" he asked, recalling the night Derek flipped his lid.  He hadn't been there for the whole conversation, but had heard about the "broken" statement.  Talia really could be a hag sometimes.  She was a good alpha, a great guardian, but a pretty shitty mother sometimes.  Especially to Derek, who she watched like a hawk.

Derek nodded.  "Scott...  I'm different.  I can't tell you how, but...  She's right.  I'm..." he said, dropping his head.  "Scott, I found my mate already, but it's...  It's not someone I can ever be with.  I'm a mate to...  I'm a mate to someone I can't be with.  It's...  It's too different, it's not right for our pack," he admitted.

"Oh.  Uh...  Who?" Scott asked, putting his hand on Derek's knee.  Derek already HAD a mate?!  And he wasn't with them?!  No wonder he was in a funk.

"Can't say," Derek replied in an instant.

"Ahhh.  Okay then," Scott said, taking a moment to think for himself.  

A lot made sense.  Derek's flip-out was probably because Talia claimed him "broken", and therefore claimed his unnamed mate was broken by extension, creating the rage.  The depression also made sense.  If he had a mate that he couldn't be around, he'd feel empty, alone, and void of a heart.  A mate was the missing half of a wolf's soul.  Missing a missing half was...  Well, it wasn't good.

"Well, do you feel like something's wrong?  Would being with your mate really be all that bad?" Scott asked quietly.

Derek shook his head.  "No.  Everything's right.  I... I know everything is right," he said, huffing sadly.  "It's just...  It'd be hard for me, and probably harder for them," he explained.

Rubbing Derek's back, Scott sighed.  "Well, then don't worry about that part.  You should prioritize your mate, dude, or you're going to be a mopey-dopey-assholey.  That's what IS wrong," he said, clapping his hand around Derek's neck and pulling him closer.  "You two can figure everything out later as you go along!" he offered kindly.

"Everything is FINE the way things are," Derek spat.

"Everything is NOT FINE," Scott said, slapping Derek upside the back of his head, earning a quiet growl.   "Seriously Derek, you spend every hour after school in this room PINING.  You act like you want to die, or hide so deep in a hole that nobody finds you. We HATE seeing you like this!" Scott screamed.

Derek tried to push away from Scott, too weak to actually make all that much a difference.

"You're acting like UNCLE PETER when he gets drunk about Crim and cries himself to sleep!  Do you want to be like that?!  IS THAT WHAT YOU FUCKING WANT?!" Scott shrieked, still holding his brother down.

Hitching his breath, Derek glared at Scott fearfully.  He only calmed down after realizing Scott was too dumb to actually fit that connection together with Derek.  

Scott sighed, shaking his head and still holding onto Derek for dear life.  

"Dude, just...  How fucking unfair do you think it is?  Uncle Peter can't see his mate, for God knows why.  He fights every day to keep himself from dying from the separation, and how the hell do you think it would make him feel to see his nephew MOPING when he's got his mate somewhere and he CAN see them?" Scott spat, letting out a deep sigh.

Derek bowed his head, as shame flooded his blood.  He stopped fighting with his brother, slumping against the wall again.

Biting his bottom lip, Scott shook his head.  "Can you...  Can you at least talk to whoever your mate is?  There's a school dance in a few days.  Why don't you...  Just like, try to dance with them?  You know how mating works.  Get 'em close enough and they'll feel the love without us telling them.  It was the same with me and Allison.  Like, before I even told her she was my mate?  It was like INSTANT crush when we met eyes," he explained.  He then smiled.  "Same with you.  Get close enough, with your hearts beating right next to each other, and BAM, you're never going to be able to live without them.  That'll solve the problem, your wolf will handle the rest.  You'll tell them how you feel.  Everything will work out, I know it," he offered supportively.

Quietly, Derek glanced away.  He didn't respond to Scott's suggestion.

Though he did think about it.  He thought about the dance, about Uncle Peter, about his moping, and just about every single thing Scott said.  

For the first time in a week, Derek could breath.  He grabbed Scott's hand, holding it tightly.

"When's the dance?" Derek asked quietly.

+  
  


A lot had happened to Scott's family since he'd menaced Derek into action.

Derek had come out as gay.  Well, actually, Stiles had accidentally found his porn stash, which outed Derek as gay, but the whole process was still the same.  Because seriously, none of the cared about it.

It was mildly irritating to think there was something Derek didn't trust him with.  

Still, Scott had been doing the same thing for years with his own secret that nobody but Melissa knew.

...

Maybe he'd tell Derek at some point.  After all, it was only fair.

Though more secrets from Derek were unveiled quickly.   A two week period or so later, Derek announced that STILES was his mate.  Best friend and buddy, who was just as wild about Derek.  

All of this happening right about the same time that Stiles DIED for his weird-ass Wisp puberty.  

Talia lost it for a few minutes, but accepted Derek all the same, as well as accepting Stiles into their family as Derek's mate.

Their lives were insane, and Scott needed to seriously reconsider staying with this pack.  Was their life always going to be insane?  

Thankfully, the insanity had calmed down, with Scott fighting his Algebra homework again.  

Scott groaned, throwing his pencil across the room and growling.  He grabbed his math book, shaking his finger at it. "You know, I was FINE with your stupid face until you added the alphabet!" he said, throwing his math book across the room as well.  "Sidney, I hereby declare tonight to be a marathon of TV Land, just don't tell anyone," he said, ruffling his old plush toy's head as he gave up on doing his homework and collapsed on his bed.  

He was barely ten minutes into an episode of I Love Lucy when the bedroom door swung open.  There stood Derek, with his dorky smile and faraway glance.  

"Oh my God, you smell like puppy love," Scott said, snorting.  Actually, Derek smelt like Stiles, happy, Mr. Stilinksi's tacos, an overprotective Jackson Stilinksi's secondhand brotherly instinct, and...  "Oh my God, you made out with Stiles after having dinner with him and his dad," Scott said, scrambling to sit cross legged as Derek fell on Scott's bed.

Giddily, Derek nodded with his beaming smile.  He looked like the luckiest man on the planet.

"Scott, I have never felt complete before.  Did you have this same thing with Allison?  Like your chest BURSTING?  I feel HIGH," Derek asked, laughing to himself.

Scott nodded.  "Yeah.  Cool, isn't it?" he said, feeling a flutter in his stomach.  Just picturing her face gave him a warm hug in the stomach.  He slapped Derek on the back.  "Glad you found your mate now, aren't you?  See?  Didn't everything turn out for the best?" he asked.

With those words, Derek's face curved into a new slim lined smile.  "That reminds me," he said, hopping out of bed and moving over to his closet.  He swung it open, and began digging inside of it.

"Looking for more porn?" Scott joked.

"Ha ha," Derek said, rolling his eyes.  From a hidden spot behind their ugly Christmas Sweaters, Derek pulled out a small white box, like one jewelry would be put inside, which was wrapped in sloppy polka dotted wrapping paper.  A red ribbon was tied around it gently.  The whole gift looked like a hot mess.

"What's this?" Scott asked, shaking the box near his ear after Derek chucked it his way.

Derek rolled his eyes.  "Just freaking open it, it's nothing huge, but...  I want to give you something," he said.

Shrugging, Scott unwrapped the crudely wrapped box, and opened the top to reveal two thin tickets laid across a styrofoam bottom.  He lifted them up and his jaw dropped in sheer shock.  "Dude, these are...  THESE ARE FALL OUT BOY TICKETS!" Scott screeched, laughing wildly.

Derek nodded.  "I thought you'd like to take Allison to that.  I know how much you both like them," he said, patting Scott on the back.

"Oh my God, she is going to FREAK!" Scott yelled, hugging Derek around the neck as tightly as he could muster.  He backed off, slapping Derek on the chest.  "Dude, what did I do to earn this?  You had to have blown through your savings to score these," he answered.

"A thank you," Derek said, smirking.

"For what?" Scott asked.  His face was blank, clearly not able to understand.

Derek sighed, rubbing the back of his head.  "Scott, you've been with me since we were five.  You are...  You are one hell of a brother, and I don't think I could make it in this house without you.  Talia doesn't even try to understand me, and just wants me to be Dad's replacement so she can have a big pack like they wanted.  I loved my Dad, but he's gone, and I'm not him.  You?  You just let me be Derek for a couple of hours every day when we're in this room, and that just means the fucking world to me," he said, smiling.

"Well hell...  I never thought you were anyone but Derek.  I dunno, just seems stupid to me that anyone would want someone else to be different.  Kind of like Jackson and Stiles being a demon and a wisp.  I mean, Mr. Stilinksi doesn't expect them to be anything but them, and look at them!  They're pretty damn happy," Scott answered.

Derek nodded, smiling.  "That's why you're the best brother in the world.  Even if you are stupid as hell," he said, chuckling.

The two grappled for a few minutes as Scott tried to extract revenge on his 3.2 GPA, only to end up on the floor, struggling and laughing as they brought it to an end.  

They sat in silence, spread out on the floor, breathing in and out deeply.

"It doesn't bother you?  Me being gay and us sharing a room?" Derek asked.

Scott snorted, turning his head to face his brother.  "Only if you and Stiles get hot and bothered under the sheets, in which case I'm going to have to demand you take it elsewhere.  Though I'd expect the same of you if Allison and I did that," he answered, smirking.

"Seriously?  It doesn't bother you?" Derek said, smiling.

"Nah," Scott said, shrugging.  "Dude, you're my brother.  Unless you turn into a serial killer, I'm probably going to love you no matter what.  I've got your back" he said, holding his hand out for Derek to shake.

Derek shook it, taking a deep breath.  "Same here.  As long as I live, anything you need, I'm here for you.  Except for the serial killer thing," he said right back.  

"Cool.  The brother law is now in full effect, with the Serial Killer exception," Scott said.  

Derek hopped up from the floor, stretching out.  "I've got homework, and I'm hoping that they kept too many letters out of it this week," he spat.

"You know, I have a secret too," Scott said, clearing his throat.

Derek raised an eyebrow, stopping by his desk.  "Dude.  Seriously?  What?!" he asked.  He slid back down to Scott's level, not breaking eye contact.

Scott nodded.  "Yep.  I uh...  I don't tell anyone because it's embarrassing as hell," he said, clearing his throat.  "I uh..  I have...  Mmrmrmrmmrmmm," he whispered quietly.  

"Eh?  I didn't hear you," Derek asked, leaning up to get a better look at Scott.  "Dude, it can't be more massive than me being-

"I have asthma," Scott admitted, dropping his head.

Derek stopped talking.  In fact, his face scrunched up, trying very hard not to laugh.

"Scott...  You're a werewolf.  How the hell do you have ASTHMA?" Derek said, pinching his leg to stop the snorts and smirks.

Groaning, Scott shook his head.  "My mom's a human, my dad was the werewolf.  Apparently, I've got a werewolf everything BUT my left lung.  So every now and then, it can't keep up with me.  So I hack up a lung, can't breath, and...  Dude, I've got an inhaler, and it sucks like fucking hell when it happens. It's like my body is dying," he grumbled.

Derek shook his head.  "How do I not know this?" he asked.

Scott shrugged, sighing.  "I'm a werewolf.  I'm supposed to be like super-strong grade-a supernatural creature, and here I am with a...  A human issue.  A weak lung.  It's why I'd never end up being an Alpha even if I hadn't submitted to you way back when," he said.  He sprung up, sitting next to Derek as they leaned against their respective beds.  "I told mom not to tell you guys after it started.  It's embarrassing.  Hell, I probably don't deserve to be your second either," he admitted.

Snorting, Derek shook his head.  "Okay, so you realize...  That's a really stupid thing to be embarrassed about?" he asked.

Scott raised an eyebrow.  "Eh?" he responded.

Derek clapped his hand on Scott's shoulder.  "Do you know why you'd suck as an Alpha?" he asked.

"Gee, shall I list the reasons why?" Scott responded annoying.

Derek shook his head.  "Because an Alpha has to be demanding.  Decisive.  Putting the needs of the many against the needs of the few.  You'd suck at that," he said.

"Asswipe," Scott said, playfully shoving Derek.

Huffing, Derek slapped Scott upside the head.  "If you'd let me FINISH, what makes you a great second is that you'd never be able to do that.  You're the kind of guy who's going to put our friends and family first, even above yourself.  Because of that, I don't have to worry about our pack," he said, nodding proudly.

"Why?" Scott asked, with a skewed face.

"Because you'll take care of them before I even have to worry.  When we've got our own pups, other Betas and Omegas, maybe even some humans and supernatural creatures like Stiles.  We're going to have the best pack in the history of mankind.  EVER." Derek said proudly.

Scott shivered, falling over and screaming in abject horror.

"What?!  What?!" Derek asked, genuinely concerned.

Clutching his stomach, Scott shook his head.  "Dude.  You realize that you just implied that I'm going to be a dad?!  STOP THAT.  I'm not having kids until I'm THREE HUNDRED," he spat annoyingly.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who's the next tale? Scott's got one more chapter, and I'm pretty sure the twins are next, but let me know who you'd like to see next?


	24. Chapter 24

The years had been kind to the Hale Pack, and Scott could honestly see how blessed they were.  

He and Allison were raising their twin sons, Josh and Jeremy, both healthy (and hypercompetitive) Alphas.  Joshua had a natural gift for exorcism and could use a little holy magic courtesy of the Argent bloodline, but Jeremy was only gifted with werewolf blood and a shitty right lung from Scott's side.  They had a bright future, and with Derek's Alpha training already under way for them, they were on a fast track to being an Alpha.

Though there was more to their family's blessings than just their own.  With Dae rights, Jackson had been able to come out of the demon closet, get married to Lydia, and actually adopt their child, Xin.  They talked about other adoptions, considering Lydia could never actually procreate or have sex with Jackson, given his status as an incubus.  Still, neither seemed to mind, and they both had their own ways to give into their carnal desires without penetrative sex.

Stiles and Derek?  Well, they'd become pretty popular in the werewolf community, and Derek was being widely regarded as the "new face of Alpha", being interviewed in dozens of periodicals.  Their work with the were council's adoptive programs had been nothing short of revolutionary, and were the proud parents of three, their latest addition (a newborn pup Derek had named Kayle) getting left on their doorstep just a few months earlier.  Whoever had left him was careful not to leave even the mildest trace of scent, making his past a genuine mystery.  

Isaac had managed to finally find his mate, Kira, way back after they graduated high school.  Honestly, Scott didn't have a single clue about Isaac.  Even if they'd lived together and been in the same pack since they were in elementary school, Isaac was always ready to admit to being a loner.  Then again, he was an Omega, and could have left the Hale pack at any time, and Mara's Kitsune dae status made them all the more secretive.  Which was fine, Isaac was entitled to whatever he wanted, after losing his family so young.

Talia had gone out on her own, wanting to explore the world and do her own thing.  Which was probably for the best, given how Derek had flourished when she got out of his hair.

John Stilinski was still the Sheriff, more in title than anything else.  His older age (nearing retirement) had made it difficult to keep the same pace he once had.  Which is why Melissa (having retired from nursing and moved into volunteering everywhere) had moved in with him, as a way for the two 50 somethings to keep each other company and in good health.  (Which was a bunch of bullshit, Scott wasn't stupid enough to believe that, the two had gotten ridiculously close after the pack had moved out, and were basically married.)

Scott smirked, glancing up from the couch and enjoying the blessed sight.  Sara and Liam were doing their homework on the coffee table, not too far from where Scott had staked his claim on the massive sectional.  Xin had been there a few minutes earlier, but his massive orange tabby cat was menacing Scott from the corner in the room (dumbass cat and dumbass Jackson for keeping said cat).  Then there was, of course, Derek being Derek and doing what he'd done since Kayle had come into their lives.

Pacing.

"Scott?  Uh...  What are you doing tonight." Derek asked, rocking Kayle back and forth in his arms, as nervous sweat poured down his face.  

Bordering the dreaded 30th birthday, Scott was content to do what he usually did on Saturdays.

Studying.  

Groaning as he always did with study-time, Scott was attempting to memorize the procedures involved with animal intestines, referencing his iPad's Blackboard App to read the assigned material.  While he'd seen Dr. Deaton do them hundreds of times over the years as his assistant, actually being a surgeon DOING the procedure and being able to explain it was another thing entirely.  

Though Derek didn't really need to know the intricacies of Scott’s doctoral program.

"Advanced studying for class this weekend.  I've got a practical exam I'm driving up to Berkeley for," Scott answered, smirking.  "Want me to watch the kids?  I'm not going anywhere tonight," he offered, knowing good and well why Derek was so nervous.

Derek nodded.  "Y... Yeah, if you don't care.  Stiles informed me we were going out on a date night, just the two of us.  You uh...  You know how he gets if I try and back out of it," he answered.

Sara giggled at the side.  "Papa, you are SO whipped!" she exclaimed, in her usually shrill teenage voice.

Rolling his eyes at his know-it-all daughter, Derek turned down to the newborn Kayle, who'd been conked out for hours.  "Right, right...  So uh...  Can you...  Can you take care of Kayle too?  Stiles...  Stiles says I'm being too clingy," he mumbled.

"You are," Scott thought to himself, choosing not to voice the obvious.  "Yes Derek, I can watch Kayle," he said, putting his book to the side.  He stood up, walking towards Derek when the Alpha flinched anxiously.

"I don't...  Scott, are you sure?" Derek asked, holding the baby as though it were made of glass.

Scott nodded.  "Derek, you haven't put down Kayle since he was left on your doorstep.  You barely let STILES hold him, and he's your husband," he said.

"Stiles drops things.  A lot.  He's very clumsy," Derek spat, still pacing back and forth on the living room carpet and pushing past Scott as he tried to hide the bundle of joy.

"Oh my God, DEREK.  Stop.  Give me my nephew, and go have your romantic date with your husband so you can calm down those fucking Alpha hormones.  I've got it, I've done this a million times before with everyone else's kids, and I was a father WAY before you were.  Hell, I was a stay-at-home dad for five years," Scott said, holding his arms out.

Just like the other times Derek was being too much of an ass or way too Alpha-ed out, Scott let his own Alpha status bleed back into his eyes.  Not that he could actually order Derek around, but he'd learned in the thirty-something years they'd been together that Scott's old Alpha self was enough of a sign to let Derek back down.  Something about confidence, Scott didn't pretend to understand the whole science behind it.  It made his head hurt.

"Fine, fine," Derek sighed.  His heart rate was through the roof, and his blood pumped en masse as he very SLOWLY handed Kayle over.  "Don't let anyone touch him, you got it?  Just you.  Not even Jackson, do you understand me?  Nobody else, I don't trust them.  YOU.  You only.  Do you understand?" Derek spat, radiating Alpha waves like crazy.

Scott sighed, pushing Derek and Stiles' arms.  "Yes yes, GRRR you big wolf man, GRRR only trust Second-in-Command and mate GRRR.  Now Stiles, would you PLEASE get your big bad wolf out of here so he can get over his sexual tension?  Seriously, how long has it been since you two had whoopie?" he asked, as Stiles walked down the staircase, brushing the ironed tie and buttoned shirt he'd put on for the occasions.

"EW, UNCLE SCOTT!" Sara said, gagging and falling off the couch, acting as though she'd been poisoned.  Teenage girls were SOOO funny.

Liam snorted, snickering like the preteen he was.

Stiles sighed, shaking his head.  "Scott, please don't corrupt my children more than you already have," he said, ruffling Liam's hair, pressing a kiss on Sara's forehead, and kissing Kayle's head as he finally got placed into Scott's arms.  

"I'm an ANGEL.  Uncle Scotty is the BEST Uncle EVER, aren't I kids?!" Scott said, breaking the newborn away from his parents," Scott announced, with a shit-eating grin.  

"Can we have pizza for dinner?" Liam asked cautiously.

Uncle Scott scoffed.  "As if we'd have anything different?" he said, boasting a big smile.

"YEAH!  Uncle Scott is the BEST," Liam and Sara announced in unison, cheering with loud sarcasm, shooting Stiles

Derek and Stiles both sighed, hugging each other as they groaned in unison.  

"Fine, I can see when bribing is hard at work," Stiles said, huffing as he shoved his hand in Derek's back jeans pocket.  "Guys, do what Scott says, you know the pack rules.  He's Second, and he's the same as an Alpha when Derek's not around.  Bedtime is 10, no sweets after 9," he said, shooting Liam and Sara both the "don't mess with me" face.  

"YES DAD," Sara and Liam proclaimed in unison.

Seemingly satisfied, Stiles then pushed Derek towards the door.  "Say goodbye Derek.  Come on, we've got reservations at 7:30, and a hotel room waiting for us.  Kids, we'll be back in the morning.  Say Goodbye to Papa!" he proclaimed, pushing the pouty Alpha with all his might.

Derek whined through his nose, waving to the kids.  "Bye pups...  Sweet dreams!  Listen to Scott!  Call me if there's any trouble!  I've got my cell phoNE-!" he said, yelping as Stiles pulled him through the door, shutting it behind them both.

"Thank God, Papa has been WAY too stressed lately!" Sara announced, turning down to her homework again.

Liam nodded.  "You bet.  Pops has been WEIRD since Kayle got here.  What's up?" he asked, glancing towards Scott.

Scott rolled his eyes.  Derek had bonded with Kayle overnight, and was just as agitated and overprotective as he'd been with his other children.  

Seriously, Scott had to groan at the stunts his Alpha pulled.

Sara?  Derek made the thirty-year-old clown that appeared at her sixth birthday party cry after said clown scared her silly.  Naturally, Scott had to bribe the bastard to not sue for emotional distress.  

Then there was Liam.  When Liam was 10, there were some bullies on the playground who made fun of him for having "big ears".  Derek made sure the parents took care of the issue, rather verbally and in front of their children.  Unfortunately, that also meant that Scott had to pick the kids up from school for a month, since those kids would sob hysterically anytime Derek got near them. 

Scott sighed, rocking Kayle back and forth in his arms.  "Well Sara, Derek's the pack Alpha.  When it comes to the pups of the pack, including you two, Kayle, Xin, the twins, and Mara, he's a little psychotic.  He's just worried about Kayle, he'll calm down.  Derek has done it before, and he'll do it again," he admitted.

Kayle giggled in his arms, the baby pup giggling wildly at the scowly faces Scott made, remembering all the shit his brother pulled.  

"Why?" Liam asked, folding his arms.

Scott chuckled, bouncing Kayle up on his shoulder.  "Your Pops is an Alpha, and Alphas get a little nutty around babies.  They're generally weak and helpless little creatures, and Alpha hormones?  Well...  Let's just say Papa Derek has a brain that's firing on instinct," he answered.

"Were you like that with Josh and Jeremy?  Was Papa like that with me, even if I was just a human?" Sara asked curiously.

Nodding, Scott took his seat back down on the couch.  Kayle was starting to fuss, so Scott let his Alpha bleed out in his eyes, and rub Kayle's back, hoping it would comfort him.  "I was the same with J and J, that's for sure.  I was 18, and Allison said I was near UNBEARABLE, never letting anyone but Derek near the pups," he said, shooting Sara and kind smile.  "And Sara..  Your Dad and Papa loved you like CRAZY, Derek pined for DAYS, worrying that you were going to ask to go back to a human foster home.  But you were five when you came to us, so you weren't helpless.  Heck, you've NEVER been helpless.  So no, Derek's never had to worry about you like he has Liam and Kayle," he offered kindly.

Sara nodded.  "I get that.  Did he worry about Liam?" she asked, snickering.

"Everyone worries about Liam," Scott added.

"HEY," Liam spat, as the rest of them laughed.

They all settled in after that.  Kayle, naturally, was 100% awake after Derek left, and was in constant need of touch, talk, and play.  

So Scott did just that, letting the baby grab as his goatee and tug at it.  Even for a baby wolf, his motor skills were excellent.

"Uncle Scott, when's Aunt Allison getting back with the twins?  I'm BORED, I miss having my partners in crime for our online game," Liam groaned, shutting his textbook.  

Scott felt his stomach do a backflip.  He'd tried very hard to block out the fact that his mate and pups were halfway across the country.

"Sometime next week, after they get back from their surprise visit to their Aunt Kate.  I can play with you later.  Let me just get Kayle to settle down, and I'll order some pizza for dinner," Scott said, as Kayle yanked HARD on his facial hair.

"SERIOUSLY?  You know how to play video games?!  Did they even have them way way back then?" Liam asked, clearly flabbergasted.

Scott growled at Liam.  "How old do you think I am?  I am the Super Nintendo MASTER, and could beat just about anyone on Dead or Alive back in the day," he declared.

"A what?  Is that like an Xbox Quartz 190?" Liam asked, curiously.

Sara shook her head.  "No, it's that old thing Scott has in the game room.  You know, the brick?" she said.

"OHHHH.  Dad and Pops' old man machine?" Liam said.

Fighting back the urge to sob hysterically, Scott rolled his eyes.  "Apparently you guys don't know the classics.  I am SO bringing the classics back.  Man, I can still remember Kindergarten when I first met Stiles.  I had my first sleepover, just us and Sid-," he said.  

As the words left his lips, something struck Scott.  A memory.

"Hey Liam...  Do you still have Sidney somewhere?" Scott asked.

Liam nodded.  "Yeah, he's on my desk.  Why?" he said, raising a cautious eyebrow.

Scott chuckled.  "How about you be an awesome big brother and pass Sidney down the line?  Sidney's got the family scent, and it might help Kayle sleep tonight.  Remember when Xin handed it over to you?  It's a time of great honor in the family," he asked, laughing to himself.  

Liam grunted, huffing as he got up from the coffee table and heading upstairs.

Scott smiled.

It had become something of a running joke in the family.  Sidney, his favorite toy from childhood, had been given to Joshua and Jeremy to share.  When Sara came along, they'd given the toy to her to act as a werewolf gesture of peace between the two families.  Sara passed it to Xin when he was adopted, who gave it to Liam.  

Sidney, once a McCall  heirloom, was now the Hale heirloom, as a right of passage for the kids.  It wasn't surprising that Liam wasn't too thrilled about giving the doll up.

Kayle continued to attack Scott's beard when Liam came back downstairs, with the old doll in tow.

"Here you go Uncle Scott!" Liam said, begrudgingly handing over the stuffed wolf.  He gave it one last squeeze, adding just a tad more scent to it.

"Thanks," Scott said, taking the doll from Liam and smiling.  "This'll make him sleep better at night while he grows up and gets familiar with us," he answered.

Liam nodded, still mildly irritated, but scenting Kayle's head as he rubbed his thin blond hair.  "Enjoy.  Welcome home Kayle," he said, plopping down next to Scott and eying his younger brother carefully.

"This is Sidney, and he's all yours now!" Scott said, pressing it into Kayle's hands.  The pup grabbed it, holding it tight.  Scott's goatee was very grateful.

Scott planted a kiss on Kayle's head, gently rocking the pup.  "That doll is VERY special.  He's our family's toy, and it's got everyone's scent on it that's ever owned him.  So my grandpa, my dad, Derek, Sara, Liam, Joshua, Jeremy, and Xin!  Now he's yours, just like you're ours," he explained, in a futile attempt to explain complicated heirlooms to a child that couldn't even speak.

Though the beaming smile on Kayle's face said it all.  His tiny little wolf could smell the comfort in the doll, smell the pack, smell the history, and know it was his family's.  

Scott held Kayle a little bit closer.  "Love you buddy," he said, rocking the baby and Sidney simultaneously.  "Whoever left you with us?  I owe them a drink," he whispered.

While caught up his uncleanness and family love, Scott missed his cell phone buzzing to the side.  

__  
  


_Allison:  kate has gone missing, my mom is freaking out.  we don't know whats wrong.  can u please call me._  

 

 


End file.
